Despite strong popular criticism of the current state of security in the West Bank, security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel is likely to continue.
On Sept. 28, Palestinian media reported on a Sept. 9 meeting in Ramallah between Hussein al-Sheikh, who is the chief of Palestinian Civil Affairs in charge of coordination with the Israelis, and Yoav Mordechai, the Israeli government coordinator in the Palestinian territories. At the meeting, Mordechai praised the Palestinian security apparatus, stating the “West Bank is the only region with stability and calm amid a region that is full of security risks such as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Gaza.” He also declared that Israel will allow additional Palestinian military forces in the West Bank because Israel has new information about certain Palestinian parties who intend to attack Israeli settlers.