PA official underlines cut in security coordination with Israel

The secretary of Fatah's revolutionary council said Saturday that a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decision to limit relations with Israel is “very serious this time.”

Amin Maqboul told Ma’an that the decision was made to "end all aspects of security coordination with Israel.”

He added that PA security services were instructed to start implementing the decision “under supervision of the Palestinian political echelon” and that security agencies will decide whether to implement the decision gradually or entirely.

The Fatah official said that “relations between both sides are so complicated that halting coordination may lead to a serious crisis.”

Israeli forces, he said, may carry out a sudden incursion into Palestinian controlled areas without notifying the Palestinian security services in advance “and that could prompt armed clashes.”

He pointed out complications could arise during visits by right wing Israelis to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus.

Such problematic issues, which have so far been under control through security coordination, will remain questionable, he said.

The main motivation behind ending the PA’s security relationship with Israel, Maqboul stressed, was for the PA to not remain silent about the near daily raids conducted by Israeli forces inside the West Bank, which legitimizes Israel’s illegal occupation of these areas.

However, Maqboul concluded by saying the PLO might reconsider its decision if Israel commits to not entering area A.