Palestinians resume security ties with Israel

OCCUPIED LAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s administration said on Wednesday it had resumed security coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank, frozen in July, and sought sole security control of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas forces dominate.

The remarks, by the Palestinian police chief, left open the question of how Abbas might bring his former rivals in Hamas to heel given their refusal to disarm as demanded by Israel and the United States.

An Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal last month formally restored Mahmoud Abbas’s administrative control of Gaza after a 10-year schism with Hamas, though the details of implementation have yet to be worked out fully.

Palestinians hope the pact will ease Gaza’s economic woes and help present a united front in their drive for statehood.

The vision includes the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian security forces have tried to tamp down violence, often sharing intelligence and cooperating across jurisdictions with Israel, despite a three-year impasse in diplomacy between the sides.

Under interim peace deals with Israel, Abbas’ Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank.

RAMAL-

Full story @ timesofoman.com/world