Palestinians end security deal with Israel as Netanyahu pushes for annexation

The Palestinian president has declared an end to security co-operation with Israel and the US.

Mahmoud Abbas speaks in Ramallah on Thursday. Picture: AFP

The Palestinian Authority President has declared an end to security co-operation with Israel and the US in response to imminent threats of Israeli annexation of Arab territories in the West Bank.

Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of commitments made under the Oslo peace accord, including the security co-operation that has helped to keep the Palestinian Authority in power while dramatically curtailing the extreme violence of the intifada years.

“The Palestine Liberation Organisation and the State of Pales­tine are today no longer bound by all agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments, and by all the commitments derived from those understandings and agreements, including those relating to security,” he said in Ramallah.

“From now on, the Israeli occupation authorities must bear all responsibilities and commitments towards the international community as an occupying power.”

The PLO voted to end co-operation with Israel and the US in 2018 but had left it up to Mr Abbas to decide when to implement the move.

His fiery speech followed the agreement of Israel’s new coalition government that allows Israeli sovereignty to be extended over Palestinian territories as early as July. In January, the Trump administration gave its blessing to Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements in its “vision for peace” blueprint.

Palestinian officials insisted that Mr Abbas’s declaration was genuine, although there were mixed messages over whether any such order had been conveyed to the Palestinian forces who co-­ordinate with Israel on security in the West Bank.

Adnan Damiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian security ser­vices, said that representatives had attended the meeting and absorbed Mr Abbas’s message to cease co-operation immediately but no formal instruction to that effect had been issued. Were such co-ordination to be annulled, Israeli forces would have to police any violence that erupts in the West Bank in reaction to annexation moves. It is also unclear how the PA could continue to operate without day-to-day co-ordination with Israel, including revenue transfers.

Annexation lay at the heart of the agreement struck between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, allowing them to create a coalition that will spare Israel a fourth election in a year. Mr Netanyahu, who will remain Prime Minister before the role rotates to Mr Gantz, secured a promise his coalition partner would not block any moves towards annexation.

It is unclear, however, whether Mr Netanyahu actually wants or intends to go ahead with annexation or is simply seeking to create a crisis that will relieve political pressure from his right-wing allies. He campaigned for their support on a promise that he would move forward with annexation.

That pressure increased further after the Trump administration endorsed annexation of the West Bank, removing one longstanding obstacle. Extending the Jewish state from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean is a long-held goal of messianic Christian Zionists that make up a key part of Mr Trump’s domestic base.

The Times