According to media reports, Palestinian and Israeli security officials are inching toward new security understandings that would limit Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operations in portions of “Area A” in the West Bank. The discussions are significant not only because they shed light on one of the few remaining spheres of active bilateral cooperation, but also because they indicate a new approach that holds promise in the absence of official political negotiations.

As the second intifada wound down, the PA embarked on rebuilding and reforming its security agencies. These efforts picked up steam when Prime Minister Salam Fayyad took office in 2007 after the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza. A central tenet of the new PA security sector was to deepen and professionalize cooperation with the IDF.

To bolster this process, Washington established the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In addition to helping with the training of new Palestinian forces, the USSC facilitated the resumption of their cooperation with Israel. Initially skeptical, the IDF later embraced the cooperation and now regularly acknowledges its utility.

Read the full article at the Washington Institute.