RAMALLAH: The Israeli internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet, guards Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on some of their trips around the West Bank, the daily Haaretz reported on Thursday.
According to an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a team from Shin Bet's VIP security unit accompanies Abbas and Fayyad whenever they are in Area C, meaning that part of the West Bank that is under full Israeli control according to the Oslo accord, the report said.
It added that on Tuesday Fayyad visited several villages near Nablus to inaugurate new wells. Because the trip involved going back and forth between Area C and Area B (where Israel has security control but the PA is in charge of civilian matters), Fayyad's convoy also included an Israeli police patrol car, representatives of Israel's civil administration and a jeep full of Shin Bet bodyguards. These guards were responsible for Fayyad's security in Area C, while his Palestinian bodyguards -- members of the PA's Presidential Guard -- took over in Area B.
Israeli defense sources told Haaretz that the security procedures for guarding Abbas and Fayyad on their trips through the West Bank stem from Israel's desire to avoid having armed Palestinian guards open fire in Area C should their charges come under attack.
The same procedures are in effect when foreign dignitaries visit the West Bank: The Shin Bet guards them in Area C, and the PA takes over in Areas B and A (the latter is the area under full Palestinian control). The Shin Bet also guards Abbas when he visits Israel.
The report said that the security Israel provides for Abbas and Fayyad is meant to prevent either of two possible scenarios. One is an assassination attempt by Palestinian extremists, such as the Hamas cell that was recently busted for allegedly planning an attack on Abbas. The other is an assassination attempt by right-wing Israeli extremists.
Fayyad's spokesman, Jamal Zakout, declined to comment on this report. However, both Palestinian security sources and the Shin Bet confirmed it.
"The Shin Bet guards the Palestinian Authority president and the PA prime minister according to regulations, and in full, orderly coordination with all the security services," the Shin Bet told Haaretz.
Adnan Al-Damiri, spokesman of the Palestinian security forces, denied the Haaretz report. Al-Damiri told Arab News that the report is "baseless" and described it as "part of Israeli media's effort to harm the PA's status and defame its image."
He stressed that the "Israelis have no role in guarding Abbas and Fayyad."
© Arab News 2009
