Palestinian Security Services Continue to Cooperate with American Counterparts
by Adnan Abu Amer – IMEMC News
▻https://imemc.org/article/palestinian-security-services-continue-to-cooperate-with-their-american-count
Despite the American-Palestinian estrangement since December 2017, leading to the imposition of American sanctions on the PA, this did not stop the two parties from holding meetings both in secret and in public. This contradiction raises several question marks regarding the seriousness of this estrangement.
In early July, Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee, met with US Congressmen Lindsey Graham and Chris Van Hollen in Ramallah. The three men discussed renewing US financial support to the Palestinian security services, which has been suspended since early 2019.
Van Hollen and Graham spoke positively about the PA’s role in maintaining security. They also made the case that it would “counterproductive for the US government to cut AID funding for Palestinian schools and hospitals, that only strengthens Hamas and sends the signal that we don’t have a working relationship with the PA.”
While PA President Mahmoud Abbas denied having political contact with the US administration in late June, he has confirmed that the PA continues its security coordination with the US to “fight terrorism”.