Israel seeks Dahlan as alternative to Abbas

Israel is considering turning to the Arabic peace axis, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt and seeking rapprochement with dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, Israeli intelligence sources have revealed.

The sources said that if Israel went on in this direction, it would ignore the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, as Israel would pave the way for Dahlan to lead the PA.

According to the sources, the US is against this initiative because this Arabic axis is waging a war against the Muslim Brotherhood. This would move this war to the Palestinian territories, where Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, exists.

To support their information, the sources reported Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s remarks last Wednesday: “The ball is in the Palestinian ditch,” he said, “regardless of negotiations, Israel has an attractive political horizon with Arab states such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”

Lieberman suggested: “If Abbas wanted to join us, this would be good. If he does not, we are not in need of him.”

The sources said that Abbas can only speak; he cannot sign any agreement that ends the Palestinian-Israel conflict and establishes an independent Palestinian state. He does not want to achieve peace, the sources said, because he wants to maintain his dictatorship and, to get support for this, he continues pressure to release prisoners. Also because he wants the flow of international donations to continue because this keeps the corrupt level of officials close to him.

The sources said Dahlan is the only one who can speak frankly about this kind of corruption. They said Israeli commentators and the US do not speak about Dahlan because:

• The US is not ready to deal with him because it entrusted him in 2007 and paid huge amounts of money for him to eliminate Hamas’ rule, but he failed.
• Dahlan’s outspoken remarks against Abbas, the PA and corruption made him an enemy to Abbas and most of the Palestinian institutions, which are waging a propaganda war against him.
• Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE would stop financial support to Abbas if Dahlan asked them because he has strong relations with their governments.
• Dahlan is maintaining a good relationship with the leader of the military coup in Egypt Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi who is fighting the Muslim Brotherhood. This is a main reason that Israel keeps silent towards him.

The intelligence sources said that the most important issue on the Palestinian-Israel arena is not signing a letter of accession for international organisations and treaties by the PA, but Israel’s rapprochement to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE without the American consent.