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Israel, Palestine reportedly hold secret talks over control of major West Bank cities

Xinhua, March 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli and Palestinian security officials have met in secret recently to discuss the restoration of the Palestinian security forces' control over major West Bank Palestinian cities, the Ha'aretz daily reported on Monday.

The daily said in its exclusive report that the talks, initiated by officials in the Israeli military and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, were aimed at restoring the ties between the Israeli and Palestinian security establishment and try to stabilize the situation in the West Bank, amid an ongoing wave of violence that erupted in October.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency have held frequent operations in those areas and others in the West Bank, as Palestinian stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks claimed the lives of 28 Israelis in the past month, with more than 175 Palestinians being killed over the months.

The Israeli security officials reportedly suggested that the IDF will end its frequent operations in Area A. The area, a fifth of the West Bank consisting of large Palestinian cities and their environs, was granted civilian and security control in the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

However, in the past two decades, especially during the period of the second Palestinian Intifada (armed uprising) of the early 2000s, the Israeli army and other security forces have operated in these territories, despite the Oslo Accords, amid waves of deadly terror attacks against the Israelis.

According to the proposal, Israeli security forces would be at liberty to operate in those territories, nonetheless, in the cases of "ticking-bombs," to prevent an attack from taking place, the daily reported.

The first town to be relinquished from the Israeli security forces' grip would be Ramallah and Jericho, with more West Bank towns to be added later on.

As for the status of the talks at present time, the Israeli official told the daily the talks are currently "stuck" but not at a dead end and could be resumed. The report said that both sides are waiting for more assurance and are facing political challenges that may threaten the fate of the talks. Endit