DEBKAfile

For the first time since 2006, the Palestinian Authority’s security
services on the West Bank have stopped cooperating with the IDF in
operations and intelligence-sharing for countering terrorism. The
arrest and interrogation of suspects, the most effective measure for
thwarting terrorist plots, are discontinued: Palestinian security
officers invite suspects for conversation, then send them home, contrary
to every explicit guarantee the Palestinian Authority and its head,
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has given Israel and the US officers building
up Palestinian Authority units.

A senior Israeli intelligence source engaged directly in counterterrorism told debkafile
Thursday, May 3, that, in response to the Palestinian Authority’s
failure to stand by its commitments, Israel has upped the terror alert
level in Judea and Samaria, as well as along the Israel-West Bank
boundary. Israeli security officials believe it is just a matter of time
before Palestinian extremists go back to their old terrorist tactics
against Israel.

Until a few weeks ago, Palestinian security authorities were still
willing to cooperate with Israel and Western officials working alongside
them to prevent “hot attacks” – i.e., plots close to execution. But in
recent days, Ramallah has discontinued even that modicum of
collaboration.

debkafile’s intelligence and counterterrorism sources say that Washington and
Jerusalem have no doubt that the Palestinian Authority would not have
taken this crucial step without the approval of its chairman, Abbas.

American officials who taxed him on this received a flat denial and a
promise to check with Gen. Abu Dohan, Palestinian Security Forces chief,
and come back with answers. This he failed to do.

There is another troubling symptom of Palestinian backtracking on its
war on terror: They have not only stopped arresting suspects of plotting
terror attacks, they are opening the doors of their prisons to let
detainees go free. This is being done gradually so as not to draw the
attention of Israel and US security and intelligence services.

The old Palestinian revolving door policy is back for terrorists at
police holding cells and detention facilities for which Yasser Arafat
was notorious during the uprising of 2000-2004.

Palestinian sources deny that Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled
Meshaal reached any understandings when they met in Cairo Wednesday, May
2. But Israel does not believe this is true. In fact Israeli
intelligence sources told debkafile that misinformation about the meeting was disseminated as a smokescreen to deceive Israeli and Western officials.

The truth, said one source, is that “Abu Mazen and Meshal are
developing a special relationship very similar to the one that existed
in the early 2000’s between Yasser Arafat and the Hamas founder, Sheikh
Ahmed Yassin.” They were consistently at odds on ideology but in
complete agreement on a policy of violence and terrorism against Israel.