18 june 2017
Following a stabbing and shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, 16 June 2017, that resulted in the killing of three Palestinian youngsters and an Israeli female soldier, the Israeli forces imposed additional collective punishment measures against the Palestinian civilians in occupied Jerusalem and later in Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah, from which the three youngsters come.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns these measures and stresses they fall within the collective punishment policy which is prohibited in the international human rights law. PCHR further calls upon the international community to work on protecting the Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and ensure its application.
According to PCHR’s investigations, after the abovementioned attack, the Israeli forces completely closed Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) area, Sultan Suleiman Street and all gates of Jerusalem, excluding Bab al-Asbat (Lions Gate).
They banned the Palestinians from entering and exiting the Old City and obliged the commercial stores’ owners to shut down otherwise they would pay a fine of over NIS 40,000.
The Israeli forces also erupted metal barriers in the streets leading to Bab al-Amoud and prevented vehicles from using these streets. The Israeli officers chased the civilians who were at Bab al-Sahera (Herod’s Gate), al-Mesrara and Nablus Street and fired sound bombs at them. Moreover, they assaulted some civilians and pushed the journalists away from the scene.
The Israeli forces mobilized all over Jerusalem, mainly the streets of Nablus, Bab al-Sahera, Sultan Suleiman and al-Mesrara. Israeli forces stopped the by-passers and checked their IDs and then deported the West Bank residents by buses distributed throughout the city. The Israeli police declared they “Deported over 350 Palestinians, who entered Jerusalem without permits, and returned them to the Palestinian territories”.
In the same context, after the identities of the three Palestinian youngsters, who carried out the stabbing and shooting attack, were disclosed, Israeli forces moved into Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah, from which the youngster come. They closed the main entrance by establishing an iron gate and closed the roads with sand and rocks, isolating the village from the world.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 05:30 on Saturday, 17 June 2017, Israeli forces moved into the said village and imposed a curfew.
The Israeli soldiers accompanied by an engineering team raided the houses belonging to the families of the three attackers and surveyed them. Before withdrawal, the Israeli forces handed over the owners of the houses decisions to demolish the houses without mentioning the date. The killed youngsters, whose family houses were raided, were identified as:
Furthermore, Israeli forces raided, searched and damaged the contents of dozens of houses belonging to relatives of the attackers and confiscated permits they had to Israel.
In the meanwhile, a number of youngsters gathered in the center of the village and threw stones and empty bottles at the Israeli soldiers, who immediately opened fire in response.
As a result, two Palestinian civilians were wounded. The first sustained a live bullet wound to the right leg and the other sustained a rubber-coated metal bullet wound to the right hand. They were both taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive the necessary medical treatment.
PCHR condemns the Israeli government’s measures against the Palestinian civilians in occupied East Jerusalem and Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah, which fall within the collective punishment policy that is internationally prohibited, especially under article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and:
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns these measures and stresses they fall within the collective punishment policy which is prohibited in the international human rights law. PCHR further calls upon the international community to work on protecting the Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and ensure its application.
According to PCHR’s investigations, after the abovementioned attack, the Israeli forces completely closed Bab al-Amoud (Damascus Gate) area, Sultan Suleiman Street and all gates of Jerusalem, excluding Bab al-Asbat (Lions Gate).
They banned the Palestinians from entering and exiting the Old City and obliged the commercial stores’ owners to shut down otherwise they would pay a fine of over NIS 40,000.
The Israeli forces also erupted metal barriers in the streets leading to Bab al-Amoud and prevented vehicles from using these streets. The Israeli officers chased the civilians who were at Bab al-Sahera (Herod’s Gate), al-Mesrara and Nablus Street and fired sound bombs at them. Moreover, they assaulted some civilians and pushed the journalists away from the scene.
The Israeli forces mobilized all over Jerusalem, mainly the streets of Nablus, Bab al-Sahera, Sultan Suleiman and al-Mesrara. Israeli forces stopped the by-passers and checked their IDs and then deported the West Bank residents by buses distributed throughout the city. The Israeli police declared they “Deported over 350 Palestinians, who entered Jerusalem without permits, and returned them to the Palestinian territories”.
In the same context, after the identities of the three Palestinian youngsters, who carried out the stabbing and shooting attack, were disclosed, Israeli forces moved into Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah, from which the youngster come. They closed the main entrance by establishing an iron gate and closed the roads with sand and rocks, isolating the village from the world.
According to PCHR’s investigations, at approximately 05:30 on Saturday, 17 June 2017, Israeli forces moved into the said village and imposed a curfew.
The Israeli soldiers accompanied by an engineering team raided the houses belonging to the families of the three attackers and surveyed them. Before withdrawal, the Israeli forces handed over the owners of the houses decisions to demolish the houses without mentioning the date. The killed youngsters, whose family houses were raided, were identified as:
- Osama Ahmed Dahdouh ‘Ata (18). The area of his family house is 150 square meters and his family members are 6;
- ‘Adel Hassan ‘Ankoush (19). The area of his family house is 110 square meters and his family members are 10; and
- Bara’ Ibrahim Saleh Ata (18). The area of his family house is 140 square meters and his family members are 6.
Furthermore, Israeli forces raided, searched and damaged the contents of dozens of houses belonging to relatives of the attackers and confiscated permits they had to Israel.
In the meanwhile, a number of youngsters gathered in the center of the village and threw stones and empty bottles at the Israeli soldiers, who immediately opened fire in response.
As a result, two Palestinian civilians were wounded. The first sustained a live bullet wound to the right leg and the other sustained a rubber-coated metal bullet wound to the right hand. They were both taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive the necessary medical treatment.
PCHR condemns the Israeli government’s measures against the Palestinian civilians in occupied East Jerusalem and Deir Abu Mash’al village, northwest of Ramallah, which fall within the collective punishment policy that is internationally prohibited, especially under article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and:
- Demands the United Nations to work on protecting the civilians in the oPt;
- Calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to ensure Israel’s commitment as a State Party to the Conventions to apply them in the oPt; and
- Demands States Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their obligations under these Conventions by exercising their Universal Jurisdiction to hold the war criminals accountable regardless of the criminals’ nationalities and the place where the crimes were committed and put an end to the impunity they enjoy for decades.
Public Document
**************************************
Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 – 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
16 june 2017
The United Nations Economic and Social Council, which accused Israel of being an “apartheid regime” and of racially dominating the Palestinians has authored a new document slamming the occupying entity for torturing Palestinians and carrying out extra-judicial executions.
The new report, dated May 23, accused the Israeli occupation forces of using disproportionate force against Palestinians and mistreating Palestinian detainees, including minors.
The report focused on the period from from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, and says that Israeli forces killed 63 Palestinians, including 19 minors, and wounded an additional 2,276 Palestinians including 562 children.
It also expresses concern over “the use of force and unlawful killings by Israeli security forces, including some cases which may have amounted to extrajudicial executions.”
Citing the UN Committee Against Torture, the report further accuses Israel of “torture or ill-treatment of Palestinian children,” of “deprivation of basic legal safeguards for administrative detainees, isolation and solitary confinement of detainees, including minors, punishment and ill-treatment of hunger strikers.”
“No criminal investigation was opened into more than 1,000 complaints of torture or ill-treatment filed since 2001,” the report read.
The agency also said Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank “has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a lasting and comprehensive peace.”
On Thursday, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said he would work to have the newest report removed as well, calling it “yet another blood libel against Israel.”
“Just as we succeeded in having the previous preposterous report removed, we will fight relentlessly against this blatantly false distortion of the truth as well,” he claimed in a statement. “We will not accept any attempt to slander the brave soldiers of the IDF.”
In March, ESCWA penned a report titled “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” which sparked a backlash by Israel and the US, leading Washington to demand action by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who pushed for its withdrawal.
The document was removed from the agency’s website and the head of the body, Jordanian UN official Rima Khalaf, resigned shortly thereafter.
The new report, dated May 23, accused the Israeli occupation forces of using disproportionate force against Palestinians and mistreating Palestinian detainees, including minors.
The report focused on the period from from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, and says that Israeli forces killed 63 Palestinians, including 19 minors, and wounded an additional 2,276 Palestinians including 562 children.
It also expresses concern over “the use of force and unlawful killings by Israeli security forces, including some cases which may have amounted to extrajudicial executions.”
Citing the UN Committee Against Torture, the report further accuses Israel of “torture or ill-treatment of Palestinian children,” of “deprivation of basic legal safeguards for administrative detainees, isolation and solitary confinement of detainees, including minors, punishment and ill-treatment of hunger strikers.”
“No criminal investigation was opened into more than 1,000 complaints of torture or ill-treatment filed since 2001,” the report read.
The agency also said Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank “has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a lasting and comprehensive peace.”
On Thursday, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said he would work to have the newest report removed as well, calling it “yet another blood libel against Israel.”
“Just as we succeeded in having the previous preposterous report removed, we will fight relentlessly against this blatantly false distortion of the truth as well,” he claimed in a statement. “We will not accept any attempt to slander the brave soldiers of the IDF.”
In March, ESCWA penned a report titled “Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid,” which sparked a backlash by Israel and the US, leading Washington to demand action by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who pushed for its withdrawal.
The document was removed from the agency’s website and the head of the body, Jordanian UN official Rima Khalaf, resigned shortly thereafter.
13 june 2017
B'Tselem, the Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied territories, has accused the Israeli security and military authorities of exchanging roles with Jewish settlers in attacking the Palestinian citizens as part of Israel’s intents to strengthen its control over the West Bank.
In a recent report, B’Tselem said the Israeli authorities allow Jewish settlers to harm Palestinians in the West Bank without then being arrested and held accountable for their crimes.
It stated that the settlers’ acts of violence and intimidation against the Palestinians “are a type of privatization of force which serves to further entrench Israel’s control without official action on the part of the state.”
“Israel allows these acts to continue almost entirely unabated because they help further its agenda in the West Bank, which includes taking over more land.”
According to the human rights group, on 22 April 2017, settlers from Yizhar and its satellite outposts descended on the Palestinian village of Urif and threw stones at homes and cars. Later that day, a group of settlers also arrived at the northwestern outskirts of the town of Huwara, which is flanked by these settlements on the west, and by the settlement of Tapuah from the south, and assaulted people and homes in the area with sticks and stones.
An elderly woman called Badi’a Odeh, 68, was grazing her sheep in a plot of land near her daughter’s house at around 5:00 p.m. The outpost of Mitzpeh Yitzhar was built near the home. Her son-in-law, Muhammad Odeh, came out of the house and started walking toward her, when suddenly, some seven settlers appeared.
In the testimony she gave to B’Tselem on May 11, 2017, Badi’a Odeh recounted:
“I saw my son-in-law Muhammad approaching, and suddenly I saw seven or eight masked settlers a few meters away from me. Some of them ran toward me, and before I knew what was going on, they had surrounded me on all sides. I didn’t know what to do. I covered my head with my arms and just succumbed to my fate. They picked up stones and threw them at me. I felt a hard blow next to my right ear, and then I lost consciousness.”
In his own testimony, given to B’Tselem on May 1, 2017, Badi’a’s son-in-law, Muhammad ‘Odeh, who also suffered an arm injury in the attack, said:
“When the settlers caught sight of me, they started throwing stones at me, too. I shouted at them and threw stones back at them to defend myself. While this was happening, I shouted to my mother-in-law to get out of there fast. I could hear my daughters, who are 15 and 17 years old, screaming from the house and I saw settlers on the roof of the sheep pen next door. They were throwing stones. I was afraid they would go into our house… I kept throwing stones at the settlers, until they moved off and went to throw stones at the neighboring house. I went over to my mother-in-law, and then settlers suddenly showed up again, and I got hit by a stone in the right arm. In the meantime, some relatives and friends came from Huwara. My daughters must have called them. Some soldiers came, too. When they went up to our house, the settlers backed away.”
“I went over to my mother-in-law with a few guys. She was lying on the ground, unconscious. Her face was covered in blood. I called for help, and some more guys came and tried to take care of her until the ambulance came 15 minutes later.”
B’Tselem affirmed that “the security forces that arrived on the scene did not arrest any of the settlers involved in the attack, and let them leave the area as if nothing had happened.”
“Based on past experience, it is safe to assume that the police will not take any measures against the individuals involved in the incident, who will be able to continue their violent conduct. The inaction on the part of the Israeli authorities in this case is part of their longstanding policy throughout the West Bank of allowing settlers to harm Palestinians without then being held to account,” the rights group underlined.
In a recent report, B’Tselem said the Israeli authorities allow Jewish settlers to harm Palestinians in the West Bank without then being arrested and held accountable for their crimes.
It stated that the settlers’ acts of violence and intimidation against the Palestinians “are a type of privatization of force which serves to further entrench Israel’s control without official action on the part of the state.”
“Israel allows these acts to continue almost entirely unabated because they help further its agenda in the West Bank, which includes taking over more land.”
According to the human rights group, on 22 April 2017, settlers from Yizhar and its satellite outposts descended on the Palestinian village of Urif and threw stones at homes and cars. Later that day, a group of settlers also arrived at the northwestern outskirts of the town of Huwara, which is flanked by these settlements on the west, and by the settlement of Tapuah from the south, and assaulted people and homes in the area with sticks and stones.
An elderly woman called Badi’a Odeh, 68, was grazing her sheep in a plot of land near her daughter’s house at around 5:00 p.m. The outpost of Mitzpeh Yitzhar was built near the home. Her son-in-law, Muhammad Odeh, came out of the house and started walking toward her, when suddenly, some seven settlers appeared.
In the testimony she gave to B’Tselem on May 11, 2017, Badi’a Odeh recounted:
“I saw my son-in-law Muhammad approaching, and suddenly I saw seven or eight masked settlers a few meters away from me. Some of them ran toward me, and before I knew what was going on, they had surrounded me on all sides. I didn’t know what to do. I covered my head with my arms and just succumbed to my fate. They picked up stones and threw them at me. I felt a hard blow next to my right ear, and then I lost consciousness.”
In his own testimony, given to B’Tselem on May 1, 2017, Badi’a’s son-in-law, Muhammad ‘Odeh, who also suffered an arm injury in the attack, said:
“When the settlers caught sight of me, they started throwing stones at me, too. I shouted at them and threw stones back at them to defend myself. While this was happening, I shouted to my mother-in-law to get out of there fast. I could hear my daughters, who are 15 and 17 years old, screaming from the house and I saw settlers on the roof of the sheep pen next door. They were throwing stones. I was afraid they would go into our house… I kept throwing stones at the settlers, until they moved off and went to throw stones at the neighboring house. I went over to my mother-in-law, and then settlers suddenly showed up again, and I got hit by a stone in the right arm. In the meantime, some relatives and friends came from Huwara. My daughters must have called them. Some soldiers came, too. When they went up to our house, the settlers backed away.”
“I went over to my mother-in-law with a few guys. She was lying on the ground, unconscious. Her face was covered in blood. I called for help, and some more guys came and tried to take care of her until the ambulance came 15 minutes later.”
B’Tselem affirmed that “the security forces that arrived on the scene did not arrest any of the settlers involved in the attack, and let them leave the area as if nothing had happened.”
“Based on past experience, it is safe to assume that the police will not take any measures against the individuals involved in the incident, who will be able to continue their violent conduct. The inaction on the part of the Israeli authorities in this case is part of their longstanding policy throughout the West Bank of allowing settlers to harm Palestinians without then being held to account,” the rights group underlined.
Christof Lehmann (nsnbc)
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) released a report detailing Israel’s aggression and transgressions in Palestine and against Palestinians from January 1 through May 31, 2017. The report does not show an unprecedented rise in the incidence of killings and other transgressions against fundamental rights; Instead, it provides a window that allows a glance into what can be described as the “normal conditions” after 50 years of occupation since the 1967 war.
The report, entitled “Israel’s Aggression Against Occupied Palestine – Special Report: Highlighting Israeli Violations” was released by the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department on June 11, 2017. (Full Report Here).
This report summarizes what the PLO describes as the Israeli aggression against occupied Palestine since the beginning of 2017 and until May 31st and presents examples of ongoing Israeli violations of international law.
The report is aimed to provide an overview of what the PLO describes as Israel’s violations and crimes, committed by its occupying forces and settlers, against the Palestinian civilian population living under its belligerent military occupation.
It also includes attacks against Palestinian property and lands in flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations, as the occupying power, under international law and international humanitarian law. The PLO also notes that this report, published 50 years after the 1967 war, documents what it describes as:
Israel’s culture of impunity over 50 years of colonization has allowed it to deny the people of Palestine the freedom to exercise their inalienable national and human rights, including the right to self-determination. Marking 50 years of Israel’s colonial occupation reflects the failure of the international community to take urgent and concrete measures to protect the Palestinian people and to hold Israel accountable for its systematic violations.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) released a report detailing Israel’s aggression and transgressions in Palestine and against Palestinians from January 1 through May 31, 2017. The report does not show an unprecedented rise in the incidence of killings and other transgressions against fundamental rights; Instead, it provides a window that allows a glance into what can be described as the “normal conditions” after 50 years of occupation since the 1967 war.
The report, entitled “Israel’s Aggression Against Occupied Palestine – Special Report: Highlighting Israeli Violations” was released by the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department on June 11, 2017. (Full Report Here).
This report summarizes what the PLO describes as the Israeli aggression against occupied Palestine since the beginning of 2017 and until May 31st and presents examples of ongoing Israeli violations of international law.
The report is aimed to provide an overview of what the PLO describes as Israel’s violations and crimes, committed by its occupying forces and settlers, against the Palestinian civilian population living under its belligerent military occupation.
It also includes attacks against Palestinian property and lands in flagrant violation of Israel’s obligations, as the occupying power, under international law and international humanitarian law. The PLO also notes that this report, published 50 years after the 1967 war, documents what it describes as:
Israel’s culture of impunity over 50 years of colonization has allowed it to deny the people of Palestine the freedom to exercise their inalienable national and human rights, including the right to self-determination. Marking 50 years of Israel’s colonial occupation reflects the failure of the international community to take urgent and concrete measures to protect the Palestinian people and to hold Israel accountable for its systematic violations.
Damage to Al Quds campus in the Abu Deis suburb of Jerusalem following an October raid. Courtesy Mojama’a Alanshita, October 2015.
The report, covering the period from January 1 – May 31, 2017 provides details on a total of 28 killings, 700 injuries, 2,803 raids, 2,469 detentions, 334 temporary detentions, 2,452 flying checkpoints, 1,254 Israeli gunfire attacks, 74 demolition operations, and 220 incidents of settler violence or terrorism.
The report also details Israel’s violation of international laws and conventions by withholding the bodies of killed Palestinians. At the time of the publication of the report Israel has been holding the bodies of seven killed Palestinians for 409, 336, 310, 405, 235, 144, and 7 days, respectively.
“Dealing with the dead as political bargaining chips” is morbid reality of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict, with both sides engaging in this practice in one form or the other, although the PLO’s “moral high-ground” could arguably based on two facts.
1) That Israel is the occupying power.
2) That the “deals” with the Israeli dead usually were conducted by Hamas, or Lebanon’s Hezbollah; Both of which are not members of the PLO.
The PLO stresses also that Israel continues to support the military occupation including armed settlers.
The PLO noted that “the State of Palestine has formally requested that the United Nations take action to ensure protection of the Palestinian people”.
There have been numerous of such requests to the UN, and the UN General Assembly has passed numerous resolutions in that regard. However, it is unlikely that any of these will have any effect as long as the five – self-anointed – peent UN Security Council members fail at responding to Israeli aggression, wars and violations by using the same standards they apply in “more politically convenient and opportune” cases.
Tragically, the Al-Fatah / Fateh dominated Palestinian Authority (PA), failed repeatedly at ending its security cooperation with Israel. The security cooperation has consistently been denounced by PLO constituents like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The PFLP is the second-largest PLO member organization. The Al-Fatah (Fateh) dominated Palestinian Authority has, since the mid-1990s, consistently been accused of cooperating with the Israeli occupation and of using the so-called “security cooperation” with Israel to crack down on opposition parties, including the PFLP and other PLO member organizations.
The report, covering the period from January 1 – May 31, 2017 provides details on a total of 28 killings, 700 injuries, 2,803 raids, 2,469 detentions, 334 temporary detentions, 2,452 flying checkpoints, 1,254 Israeli gunfire attacks, 74 demolition operations, and 220 incidents of settler violence or terrorism.
The report also details Israel’s violation of international laws and conventions by withholding the bodies of killed Palestinians. At the time of the publication of the report Israel has been holding the bodies of seven killed Palestinians for 409, 336, 310, 405, 235, 144, and 7 days, respectively.
“Dealing with the dead as political bargaining chips” is morbid reality of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict, with both sides engaging in this practice in one form or the other, although the PLO’s “moral high-ground” could arguably based on two facts.
1) That Israel is the occupying power.
2) That the “deals” with the Israeli dead usually were conducted by Hamas, or Lebanon’s Hezbollah; Both of which are not members of the PLO.
The PLO stresses also that Israel continues to support the military occupation including armed settlers.
The PLO noted that “the State of Palestine has formally requested that the United Nations take action to ensure protection of the Palestinian people”.
There have been numerous of such requests to the UN, and the UN General Assembly has passed numerous resolutions in that regard. However, it is unlikely that any of these will have any effect as long as the five – self-anointed – peent UN Security Council members fail at responding to Israeli aggression, wars and violations by using the same standards they apply in “more politically convenient and opportune” cases.
Tragically, the Al-Fatah / Fateh dominated Palestinian Authority (PA), failed repeatedly at ending its security cooperation with Israel. The security cooperation has consistently been denounced by PLO constituents like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The PFLP is the second-largest PLO member organization. The Al-Fatah (Fateh) dominated Palestinian Authority has, since the mid-1990s, consistently been accused of cooperating with the Israeli occupation and of using the so-called “security cooperation” with Israel to crack down on opposition parties, including the PFLP and other PLO member organizations.
Palestinian Authority forces crack down on Palestinian protesters. Here at a rally in Ramallah, December 2015.
The Palestinian Authority and Al-Fatah, for their part, have, since the mid-1990s, repeatedly announced that they would end the security cooperation.
Even a cursory review of the discourse allows for the identification of two situations in which the PA and Fateh usually “pay lip-service” to ending the security cooperation.
That is, during negotiations with Israel, and especially when it lacks popular support for its negotiation strategy, and in situations where oppression of dissent, security cooperation and years of fruitless negotiations with Israel send Fateh’s and the PA’s approval ratings plummeting to such lows that it’s dominant role in the PLO and PA could be challenged.
The Palestinian Authority and Al-Fatah, for their part, have, since the mid-1990s, repeatedly announced that they would end the security cooperation.
Even a cursory review of the discourse allows for the identification of two situations in which the PA and Fateh usually “pay lip-service” to ending the security cooperation.
That is, during negotiations with Israel, and especially when it lacks popular support for its negotiation strategy, and in situations where oppression of dissent, security cooperation and years of fruitless negotiations with Israel send Fateh’s and the PA’s approval ratings plummeting to such lows that it’s dominant role in the PLO and PA could be challenged.
