Middle East Monitor / February 17, 2020
Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security cooperation with Israel is continuous, senior PA official Nabil Abu Rudeineh announced on Sunday, adding that the PA is ready to start peace talks within two weeks.
Speaking to a group of Israeli journalists, Abu Rudeineh, who is a senior aide to PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, stated: “We are dealing with an Israeli government which destroys all prospects of peace.”
He also asserted that: “The US administration pushes Israel and the Palestinians to become involved in a continuous struggle.”
Abbas’s aide emphasised that the PA does not interfere in Israeli elections, but stressed that it is looking for peace partners.
“The security cooperation is continuous, but it might not continue forever,” he revealed. “We do not interfere in the Israeli elections, but we are looking for a peace partner like [the late prime ministers Shimon] Peres and [Yitzhak] Rabin,” he added.
Regarding the “Deal of the Century”, he confirmed that it would never help to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian struggle because “this struggle can only be solved via talks.”
He concluded his speech with the Israeli journalists: “We are currently at a crossroads: whether we see Israel choosing peace or continuous struggle. Our president wants peace and it is difficult to find anyone to accept the US conditions.”
It is worth noting that Abbas and many of his aides and leaders of the PA, PLO and Fatah have affirmed that security cooperation with Israel was suspended, in an attempt to undermine the “Deal of the Century”.
