Below the Surface, Coordination Between Israel and PA Continues

By: Baruch Yedid

Although Israeli-Palestinian Authority (PA) coordination channels have been officially severed, the two sides still maintain a coordination routine even without direct meetings, TPS has learned.

A PA official told TPS that coordination takes place “by virtue of the habit” and “on automatic,” and especially informally at the lower echelons, taking advantage of the relationship created between Israelis and the PA in local coordination channels.

For now, all permits held by PA residents are considered valid by Israel, including the BMC certificates that give businessmen the right of entry into Israel.

On Sunday, the traffic of workers from the PA into Israel resumed through the crossings after a long period when the crossings were closed. 63,000 entered Israel, including 40,000 construction workers and another 5,000 agricultural workers.

Alongside the coordination routine, one of Fatah’s senior officials, Hassan Hamil, stated Sunday night that “coordination with Israel no longer exists and that any questions concerning it or that question the Palestinian Authority’s seriousness are misplaced.”

The Palestinian Authority’s Mayors’ Association of issued a statement Sunday night about its commitment to act in accordance with the PA’s directives and that it has refused inquiries from Israeli entities on various matters.

PA officials say that, in the meantime, no events have put the PA’s decision to the test in a serious way, but a series of civil matters require resolution, especially coordination in health, trade and permits.

The PA is aware of the intensification of violent incidents in its territory, including murders and clashes between clans, which requires a response in the field of security coordination.

In another development, TPS reported that Israel will transfer in the coming days the tax funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the amount of about NIS half a billion, PA sources report.

These taxes were raised by Israel through the economic activity of Palestinians in its territory, as stipulated by the 1994 Paris Accords that dictate the economic relations between Israel and the PA, which the PA suspended last week.

The funds will be transferred to the PA in the coming days, despite the fact that the PA was instructed its officials not to attend the monthly coordination meeting in the Israeli Ministry of Finance, following the suspension of the Israeli-PA coordination relations, in accordance with Mahmoud Abbas’ decision.

Sources report that the PA estimates that Israel will do its best to preserve the civilian systems in the PA and therefore will not withhold the tax money used to fund it.

Israeli treasury officials confirmed Sunday evening that although they have not received any announcement from the Palestinian side about the meeting that is expected to take place in the near future, they are inclined to transfer the tax money directly to the PA’s bank account and that this does not depend on having a direct meeting with them.

It should be noted that the amount to be transferred to the PA includes the relative portion of the Israeli loan of NIS 800 million, a loan that Israel agreed to provide to enable the PA to deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The terms of the loan were agreed on before Abbas announced the suspension of the coordination channels.

(TPS)