PA intelligence chief meets with US security officials in Washington

PA intelligence chief meets with US security officials in Washington D.C
Feb. 10, 2017 3:03 P.M. (Updated: Feb. 10, 2017 3:08 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=775402

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Official Palestinian Authority (PA) sources told Ma’an
on Friday that the chief of the PA’s general intelligence service Majid
Faraj recently visited Washington D.C along with a delegation of Palestinian
officials.

Faraj and his delegation met with security officials of the new US
administration. The visit, according to the official sources, was a “very
important first step” toward more frequent visits and more communication
between the PA and the administration of newly elected president Donald
Trump.

Sources said different issues were discussed during the meetings with US
officials in preparation for “serious dialogue between both sides,” though
the exact issues discussed remained unclear.

Trump’s administration has been expected to lead the conflict farther away
from any prospective solution, as he has been vocal in his support for
moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and has also continued to
be a public proponent for Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.

Following Trump’s election, Israel’s ultra-right Education Minister Naftali
Bennett said that a Trump presidency would mark the end of a push for the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“This is the position of the president-elect, as written in his platform,
and it should be our policy, plain and simple. The era of a Palestinian
state is over,” he said.

The White House said in a statement earlier this month that “while we don’t
believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the
construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements
beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving [peace].”

Last month, Trump’s administration reportedly froze the $221 million dollars
that former president Barack Obama had released to the Palestinian Authority
(PA) in the final hours of his presidency, with the US state department
saying it will possibly “make adjustments” to the package, to ensure that
the transfer “comports with the Trump administration’s priorities.”