Palestinian Authority plans to revive collaboration with Israel

According to an official, the relationship ‘will resume as before’ after we obtained written and oral letters’ confirming that Israel still recognizes the previous agreements.

A senior official in Palestine stated, ‘the PA (Palestinian Authority)’s interactions with Israel will continue. In May, it had stopped these interactions because of Israel’s plan to annex regions of the occupied West Bank.

On Tuesday, the civil affairs minister of PA, Hussein al-Sheikh, who’s also President Mahmoud Abbas’ close aide, tweeted that ‘the ties with Israel shall revert to its former state’ after ‘we received formal oral and written letters’ that verified Israel’s obligation to previous agreements.’

In May Abbas said that the Palestinians are no longer going to be committed to any previous agreements it signed with Israel. It would put on hold all its interactions with it, for instance, joint efforts on security issues.

Harry Fawcett from Al Jazeera reporting from West Jerusalem stated that this resolution put various PA’s endeavors of reuniting with different Palestinian factions in danger

‘Hamas, the Palestinian group, and others are not happy with this action and said that it amounts to reuniting with an occupying authority,’ remarked Fawcett. ‘It now appears likely that rumors of possible resolution and elections in Palestine may be true.’

This action was taken as Israel got ready to annex 1/3 of the West Bank, such as its entire remote illegal settlements. It was one of the plans that U.S. President Donald Trump presented at the beginning of this year, and among his administrations’ numerous contentious policies that benefit Israel.

The annexation strategy,  according to Palestinians would render a two-state solution unfeasible. In the 1990s, the signing of peace accords predicted the formation of a Palestinian government alongside Israel.

In August, annexation was postponed after the United Arab Emirates conceded to resuming ties with Israel. However, according to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, the suspension was not permanent.

Sudan and Bahrain did the same; they also put on hold a pan-Arab position that had been in effect for a long time, whose terms insisted on Israeli’s departure from areas that were already illegally occupied, and embracing of Palestinian statehood in compensation for normal ties with Arab states.

The Palestinians have rejected these agreements, and described them as ‘disloyal’ and a betrayal of their beliefs.

At the beginning of this month, Trump failed to get re-elected after Joe Biden, his Democratic rival defeated him. Biden will assume office on 21 January.

Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday that the prime minister talked to the U.S. president-elect, and their talk was ‘friendly.’ Acknowledging that Biden won the election over Trump took time for the Israeli’s leader since Trump is his close friend. Two weeks following the election day, Trump failed to accept defeat, and repeatedly alleged that widespread voter fraud took place.

image Emanuele Nocerino / Shutterstock.com