Joint Israeli-Palestinian cooperation
Israeli defense officers meet with Palestinian Presidential Guard to discuss, coordinate Abbas security
Are Israelis and Palestinians renewing security coordination? Ynet was recently informed of a Wednesday meeting in Jericho between Israeli security officers and officers from the Palestinian Presidential Guard, to discuss how best to protect Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Palestinian Presidential Guard is responsible for the president's security, and is considered a force loyal to the president.
The security concerns most requiring such coordination during his drives between Gaza and Ramallah in the West Bank, and during his stays in Gaza.
A Palestinian source said that the two sides had exchanged information about topics beyond Abbas' security, suggesting that the meeting could serve as a launching point for further cooperation between the two sides.
The source said that, although such meetings don't occur often, there are many places in the West Bank and Gaza where coordination – or at least an exchange of information - takes place to a certain extent.
The source added that this meeting did not constitute a return to the same level of coordination as had existed in the past, but did say that there was a clear renewal of cooperation between the two sides.
During her meeting in the region, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized the importance of reestablishing security cooperation between the two sides, as it would help alleviate the burden on Palestinian society.
The IDF said that this was "a routine field meeting, which usually takes place between division commanders…The information was not particularly sensitive."
Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
