Ex-Shin-bet chief: give Palestinians part of Area C to reduce tension

“Israel should avoid taking irreversible actions on the ground. Do not annex Judea and Samaria so a single state can be avoided. Avoid harming the sensitivities of Muslims and Christians.”

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Updated: MAY 10, 2018 14:09
Yarom Cohen, May 10, 2018. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Yarom Cohen, May 10, 2018.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Israel should give the Palestinian Authority parts of the West Bank’s Area C, which are expected to be part of its territory in any potential peace settlement in order to reduce tension between the sides, former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Yoram Cohen said on Wednesday.
Cohen’s comments, during a speech in Herzliya, were pessimistic overall as he addressed the prospects of any major move forward toward peace in the near future – which made the suggestion all the more striking.
Due to the wide gap between Israel and Fatah over any peace settlement, and Hamas’s commitment to fighting Israel, Cohen suggested the Area C idea as a way of avoiding a deterioration of the security situation from the relative quiet on the Palestinian front.
Cohen, who ran the Shin Bet from 2011- 2016, noted that the current period of relative quiet since 2014 has been one of the most stable in decades.
All of this was part of Cohen’s broader message that “Israel should...avoid bad moves and make good ones” in order to avoid worsening the security situation.
More specifically, he said, “Israel should avoid taking irreversible actions on the ground. Do not annex Judea and Samaria so a single state can be avoided. Avoid harming the sensitivities of Muslims and Christians.”
In addition, Cohen said he supported continuing to work on increasing economic cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and emphasized it was important not to interfere with Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount.
Another idea that Cohen suggested for improving the Palestinians general standing was facilitating an increase in transportation between Jordan and the Palestinian areas.
Despite his support for all of those moves to reduce tensions, Cohen said he did not support Intelligence Minister Israel Katz’s initiatives to build a man-made island for Gaza to improve its economy.
Looking forward, Cohen said he believed US President Donald Trump would present a peace package to Israel and the Palestinians, but that the PA would reject it as insufficient in terms of territorial concessions they demand.
He explained that Fatah in the West Bank is trying to pressure Israel diplomatically before the International Criminal Court and with the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign, while Hamas in Gaza is trying to pressure Israel with attack tunnels, drones and other military threats.
Both paths have left the Palestinians as a people unable to form any clear position for coexistence and peace, he said.
In that light, “Israel should...work to make a future deal possible and...make its own package and determine its interests – with its interests based on a wide consensus and not just one side” of the political spectrum.