Israel complains to Washington about "weak" security coordination with PA

Israel has complained to the United States about what it alleges is “weak” security coordination with the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. This vulnerability is, claim the Israelis, an obvious security risk given the fragile situation in the West Bank, the [illegal] settlements and their surroundings.

Well-informed Palestinian sources told the media that President Mahmoud Abbas has stopped his security agencies’ prosecution of Hamas members, including arrests and confiscation of weapons and money, at a time when calls for a third Intifada are on the increase.

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The sources said that Israel was responding to Washington’s demands that the Netanyahu government should hand over the tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority so that the PA can pay salaries, especially to its security services. Israel is stalling, though, and refusing to deal with the subject due to the forthcoming General Election and the implications that such a move could have.

Israeli Army radio reported that the security services in Israel oppose the government’s punitive measure against the PA because of the effect it is having on security coordination. A serious shortage of money could create dismay among security personnel, allege Israeli security officials, driving them into the arms of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.