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Palestinian official threatens to end security coordination with Israel amid incursions

Xinhua, April 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

A Palestinian official threatened on Wednesday that security coordination with Israel could be terminated amid its continued incursions into West Bank areas under the control of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

"If Israel continued incursions into areas (A) and other Palestinian areas, then there would be no meaning to the agreements signed between both parties and we want for this security coordination to end once and for all," member of Fatah party's Central Committee Mohammad Ishtayye told official Voice of Palestine, referring to areas under Palestinian control as agreed in the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Ishtayye said that the Palestinians have informed the Israeli government in an official letter in February that "this intransigence means to us the end of the political and security process with them."

He accused the Israeli government of being "extremist and does not want to respect, by any means, signed agreements or the international law."

The Israeli public radio reported that the "security and political affairs cabinet is expected to discuss a plan to transfer the security jurisdiction over area (A) to the PNA.

According to the radio, the Israeli Security Agency (Shabak) has objected the proposal to limit military activities in the areas under Palestinian control, saying it would weaken efforts to foil "terrorist attacks."

Under the interim Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel in 1993, the West Bank is divided into three zones: A, B and C, with area (A) being under Palestinian control, (B) under Israeli security coordination and Palestinian administrative control and (C) under full Israeli control.

Palestinians say the Israeli military operations in area (A) have been a major cause behind the current wave of tensions, which broke out between Palestinians and Israel last October, killing over 200 Palestinians and 30 Israelis.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled since April 2014, when U.S.-sponsored negotiations that had lasted nine months achieved no tangible results. Endit