By: Baruch Yedid
Chances for the renewal of coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in civil matters and even possibly security issues has increased in recent days, TPS has learned.
The civilian coordination is focused on issues such as the population registry and transportation.
In the meantime, the security coordination continues all the time “behind the scenes,” a senior Palestinian source told TPS.
Sources in Ramallah claim that in recent days there have been behind-the-scenes contacts on the issue of the renewal of ties with Israel and that Egypt is also involved in them and therefore the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was recently sent to Ramallah.
According to the sources, these contacts also led to the promotion of the possibility of resuming dialogue between the PA and the United States.
The PA announced in April that it was freezing coordination with Israel in response to its plan to declare sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria, as stipulated by the US-formulated Deal of the Century peace plan.
The assessment now in Ramallah is that the plans for annexation are off the table and a source says that the PA can now renew coordination on security matters to stop the deterioration in the Palestinian street and the economy.
TPS has also learned that talks have recently taken place between PA and American security officials on the question of annexation and its implications for the Palestinian arena.
The messages conveyed by the PA to the US dealt with the PA’s commitment to preventing terrorist acts from its territory and its willingness to renew the coordination channels, as well as concerns about the move to unite Fatah and Hamas, a move opposed by PA intelligence chief Majed Faraj.
PA sources say that due to the freezing of ties between Israel and the PA, Israel has lost important information on the population registration, including tens of thousands of registrations about births, deaths, ID cards and movement records of Palestinians, which may prevent them from leaving the PA.
(TPS)
