Palestinians confirm security coordination with Israel has resumed

The head of the Palestinian police in the West Bank confirmed on Wednesday that security coordination had resumed with Israel, after it was partly suspended in July.

“Everyone is coordinating now. That means things returned to what they were before July 14,” Hazem Atallah said. “Things are normal now.”

He later confirmed to journalists in Ramallah that it was around two weeks ago that security coordination resumed fully.

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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced in July that security coordination was being suspended in protest at Israel installing new security measures at the entrance to the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem following a terror attack, although it was unclear to what extent it was actually cut.

The security measures, including metal detectors, were installed after two Israeli policemen were killed in the area by Arab Israeli gunmen who emerged from the holy site to commit the attack.

Muslim worshippers pray at an entrance to the Temple Mount at the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, July 25, 2017. Muslim worshippers still refused to pray on the Temple Mount following the government’s decision remove the metal detectors and instead place more security cameras on the compound. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Palestinians saw the security measures as Israel seeking to assert further control over the holy site. The measures were eventually removed.

Atallah clarified that security coordination was never completely cut for the police, saying 95 percent of the activities had continued.

“The only thing we stopped is we didn’t meet them in the field,” he added of ties with his Israeli counterparts.

“We don’t work with politics. We work for people,” he said, defending the coordination, which polls say is unpopular with most Palestinians.