Palestine denies security coordination with Israel despite Jenin offensive

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian official has denied Israeli reports about ongoing security coordination with Tel Aviv despite Israeli attacks in the West Bank city of Jenin.

On Monday, the Israeli army launched its largest military operation in Jenin in more than 20 years, killing at least 10 Palestinians and injuring more than 100 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In protest of the Israeli offensive, the Palestinian Authority decided to suspend all forms of contacts and security coordination with Tel Aviv.

But Israeli media reports suggested that security coordination between Ramallah and Tel Aviv was still ongoing.

“The Palestinian security apparatus are committed by the decision of the Palestinian leadership to halt security coordination with Israel,” the Palestinian official, who preferred to remain unnamed, told the state news agency Wafa on Tuesday.

He said the Israeli reports about security coordination aimed to “create confusion”.

The Israeli offensive in Jenin came amid rising tensions across the occupied West Bank in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.

Nearly 190 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of this year, according to the Health Ministry. At least 25 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.
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*Writing by Ahmed Asmar