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Palestinian Authority threatens to halt security cooperation with Israel

May 14, 2014 at 11:14 am

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has threatened to halt security cooperation with Israel should the latter not stop its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

This is the first time the PA has waved such a threat in Israel’s face. It reflects the deteriorating relationship between the two sides.

Senior PA official and PLO executive member Yasser Abed Rabbo gave an interview to British newspaper the Independent, in which he suggested that the PA would stop helping the Israeli army in facing attacks if it did not stop its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.

Abed Rabbo pointed out that the Israelis have breached all agreements with the PA except for security cooperation. “If they pursue the same policy through continuous settlement activity, and lately though destroying the peace process, they are paving the way for the destruction of what remains of our relationship – the security coordination,” he warned.

Abed Rabbo questioned whether the PA could continue co-operating with the Israeli occupation army when it is “integral to the system of confiscating Palestinian land”. He added that: “They are extending one hand to shake with us and with the other they are stabbing us.”

When asked about whether halting the security cooperation “would amount to tearing up” the Oslo Agreement, he responded: “There is nothing left to tear of the Oslo Agreement.”