PLO says it will halt security coordination with Israel

The PLO said Thursday that it would suspend security coordination with Israel in response to Israel’s withholding of tax funds from the Palestinian Authority (PA), an official said Thursday.

Speaking to The Anadolu Agency, Wasil Abu Youssef, a member of the PLO Central Committee, said that the committee decided on Thursday to halt security coordination with Israel.

He said that the decision boiled down to what he described as "daily Israeli violations", Israel's insistence on withholding Palestinian tax money and breaching agreements signed with the Palestinians.

Israel decided to withhold up to $150mn of Palestinian tax money late in 2014. The move came hard on the heels of Palestine’s decision to apply for membership in several international organisations, including the International Criminal Court.

"The committee also decided to go ahead in the pursuit to attain all Palestinian rights at the international level and also take further steps in reconciliation with Palestinian faction Hamas," Abu Youssef added.

The decision was praised by the PA’s rival Hamas in Gaza, who welcomed the announcement that steps would be undertaken in order to reconcile the two governments.

“Many of the decisions taken by the PLO Central Committee are good and constitute a step in the right direction, and Hamas is receiving them positively,” said Moussa Abu Marzouq, a leading member of Hamas, in a statement.

Hamas and the PA have been at loggerheads since the former took over the Gaza strip in 2007, following a period of bloody infighting after a failed attempt by Fateh to overrule the democratically elected Hamas.

Additionally, Ma’an News Agency reported Wednesday that the committee had called for facilitating the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and holding parliamentary and presidential elections "as soon as possible".

In coordination with the Arab League, the committee will also pursue another UN Security Council resolution to end the Israeli occupation, the Ma’an report said. Palestine’s last UN bid failed to pass by a slim margin in December.

Ma’an quoted PLO officials Nasser al-Deen Shaer and Sameer Abu Aisha as saying the PLO would implement the decision to halt security coordination “at the appropriate time”.

Palestinian officials have often threatened to cut security coordination with Israel, most recently following the death of a PA official during a scuffle with Israeli soldiers at a peaceful protest near Ramallah.

The policy of security coordination is extremely unpopular among the Palestinian public, as it often involves PA police taking orders from the Israeli military that occupies the West Bank.