Report: Palestinians Still Coordinating With Israel on Security Despite Abbas Announcing Cut Ties

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Palestinian Authority (PA) is reportedly continuing security coordination with Israel despite President Mahmoud Abbas telling the Arab League in Cairo on Saturday that Palestinians will have “no relations” between the US and Israel “including security relations.”

“Until now, the coordination is ongoing, but relations are extremely tense,” an unnamed Palestinian official told The Times of Israel Sunday.

Israel and the PA security forces have coordinated for years in policing areas of the West Bank that are under Palestinian control. The PA also has intelligence agreements with the CIA.

Abbas’ announcement that the PA is severing all ties with the US and Israel is in reaction to President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” Israeli-Palestinian peace plan released last week.

The plan calls for the creation of a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital so long as the PA recognizes the Jewish State, disarms Hamas, and other conditions. The deal also recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided eternal capital and allows the Jewish State to annex portions of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Trump Administration officials say Palestinians can negotiate the terms of the agreement or present a counter offer.

Abbas rejected the plan as the “slap of the century” and called on Arab nations to join him in denouncing the plan.

The Arab League on Saturday called the deal “unfair” to the Palestinians “considering that it does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.”

The Trump Administration’s deal does not allow the “Right of Return” for Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 war and their descendants, a long-held Palestinian demand in the peace process. Israel does not want millions of Palestinians to return to the land because they would quickly outnumber Israelis, causing a massive demographic shift.

According to the plan, Israel would control the Palestinian state’s borders, airspace, and security – something critics say essentially robs the Palestinians of any sovereignty. However, Israel views this control as critical to its own security.

While the Palestinians and Arab League have unilaterally rejected the plan, other Arab states have shown cautious optimism.

Ambassadors from Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates attended the unveiling ceremony of the peace plan in the US last week, signaling their support for the deal.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on Israelis and Palestinians to renegotiate peace and said they appreciate the Trump Administration’s efforts.

Jordan, the only Arab country besides Egypt to have an official peace treaty with Israel, warned the Israelis against annexations in the West Bank and Jordan Valley. Jordan said it also remains committed to the creation of a Palestinian state according to the borders before the 1967 Six Day War when Israel captured the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Golan.