’Israeli’ Minister Slams Reported Secret Talks With Palestinians

Local Editor

"Israeli" Minister Zeev Elkin Monday slammed a reported offer to reduce "Israeli" military operations in cities of the occupied West Bank and restore Palestinian security responsibility.

Elkin, the occupation entity's so-called "Immigration" Minister and a member of Netanyahu's cabinet, claimed ministers were not notified of such an initiative.

Relatively, the Haaretz daily said that according to "senior "Israeli" officials familiar with the contacts, "Israel" and the Palestinian Authority have been holding secret negotiations over the past month for a gradual restoration of Palestinian security control over West Bank cities."

"We members of the cabinet didn't know about this and I personally oppose this idea totally," Elkin, of Netanyahu's Likud party, told "Israeli" public radio.

However, Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Meanwhile, Zionist forces raided Friday the offices of a Palestinian television station in the heart of Ramallah.
Ramallah and the main Palestinian cities are in the zone, known as "Area A," designated under the Oslo accords as under full Palestinian rule.

Nevertheless, Haaretz said that under the "Israeli" proposal, its forces would reserve the right to enter Area A to counter imminent threats, known in "security" circles as "ticking bomb" scenarios. It added that the Palestinians rejected the demand as contrary to the Oslo treaties.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team