Abbas Says Israel Refuses To Resume Security Cooperation
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Israeli opposition lawmakers on Sunday that he had proposed rolling back his month-old suspension of security coordination with Israel, but that it did not respond to the overture, the delegation said.
Abbas suspended ties on July 21, demanding that Israel remove metal detectors it had installed outside a Jerusalem compound housing the Al-Aqsa mosque in response to the killing of two of its police guards by gunmen who had holed up there.
Amid Palestinian and Jordanian unrest, and U.S. mediation efforts, Israel dismantled the walk-through gates on July 25 and said it would install less obtrusive security measures.
“We recently communicated with them (Israeli security officials) in an attempt to resume some kind of cooperation,” Abbas told a visiting delegation from Israel’s left-wing Meretz party, according to a statement issued by the lawmakers.
“But they have not returned an answer, something that has prevented progress in thawing ties,” he was quoted as saying.
A Netanyahu aide, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said: “These reported remarks are simply incorrect.”
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