Israeli-Palestinian Authority security work to continue

Israeli and Palestinian officials yesterday signalled that security co-ordination ­between them would continue, despite a looming deadline that will cut off all US assistance to the Palestinians.

Security co-operation in the West Bank is one of the few remaining areas of contact between Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority after years of otherwise rocky ties, with both sides joined in a common struggle against Hamas.

This co-ordination has been thrown into doubt by a law that requires the US to cut off its financial assistance to the Palestinians, including millions of dollars in ­security aid, as of midnight (9am today AEDT).

While all sides agree the co-ordination is beneficial, it was doubtful the issue would be resolved before the deadline. Still, there were no signs that the behind-the-scenes co-operation would end.

“Security co-operation is important for Israel and for the Palestinians,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN.

Under the Anti-Terrorism Co-operation Act, the Palestinian Authority would be disqualified from receiving any US aid unless it agreed to pay court judgments of up to hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of US victims of Palestinian attacks. The deadline for accepting that condition was January 31.

Read the article in The Australian (AP).