Gantz, Abbas Discuss Security Coordination in Phone Call

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
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Gantz, Abbas Discuss Security Coordination in Phone Call

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas raises a picture taken from the “New York Times” during a speech at the UN General Assembly (Reuters)

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz asked Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to work on restoring security coordination to abort attempts to spread chaos, a Tel Aviv political source revealed on Tuesday.

“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Defense Minister Benny Gantz to congratulate him on the Jewish New Year,” the PA news agency WAFA reported.

An Israeli official confirmed the conversation, albeit a short one, and said the two also discussed the security situation in the West Bank and reinforcing security coordination.

Gantz also asked Abbas to work toward stopping the escalation.

According to informed Israeli sources, Gantz seized the opportunity in Abbas’s call to urge the PA head to “restore security coordination between the PA and Tel Aviv to the way it was before,” stressing that it was in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Gantz’s office said that the defense minister discussed with Abbas “the security situation in Judea and Samaria (the Israeli naming of the occupied West Bank territories), and the need to strengthen security coordination to ensure that law and order are upheld.”

It added that Gantz also discussed strengthening of the PA’s control over the West Bank’s Area A, as stipulated by the Oslo Agreement.

For his part, Abbas said that the cause of tension in the occupied Palestinian territories is due to the strict measures that Israel exercises against citizens, ranging from daily mass arrests to encouraging settler militias to carry out attack.

However, Gantz warned that “there is a significant increase in Palestinian terrorist operations against the Israeli army and settlers, and this forces the army to be present in a large way and to pursue organizations to thwart such operations.”

The Israeli source affirmed that although the conversation between Gantz and Abbas was cordial it resembled a “voiceless dialogue.”



Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
TT

Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israel was “at the start of a new phase in the war” amid rising tension with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Gallant told Israeli troops.

He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices in Lebanon but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the cross-border exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country's army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Israel will ensure that tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas will be able to go back home, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the north to their homes in security and that's exactly what we are going to do," he said in a brief video statement, giving no further details.

Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter said the army had moved its 98th Division, which includes commando and paratrooper formations, from Gaza to the north.