Middle East Monitor / August 19, 2020
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz called on the security institution to work on renewing security and civil coordination with the Palestinian Authority.
This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley was postponed, according to Channel 12.
The channel added: “Gantz directed the concerned parties to renew security and civil relations with the Palestinian Authority,” explaining that the PA is engaged in opposing the normalisation agreement between Israel and the UAE, according to Russia Today.
According to Channel 12, the Israeli security services estimate that it will be possible to reach a gradual renewal of coordination, which strengthens the economic interests of the Palestinian Authority, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and also helps Israel in maintaining security stability.
On 13 August, US President Donald Trump announced a peace deal between the UAE and Israel brokered by Washington.
Abu Dhabi said the deal was an effort to stave off Tel Aviv’s planned annexation of the occupied West Bank, however, opponents believe normalisation efforts have been in the offing for many years as Israeli officials have made official visits to the UAE and attended conferences in the country which had no diplomatic of other ties with the occupation state.
Netanyahu repeated on Monday that annexation is not off the table, but has simply been delayed.
The PA announced in June that it would be halting all coordination with the occupation state as a result of its plans to unilaterally annex occupied Palestinian territories.
