jerusalem | A diplomatic message released by WikiLeaks this week suggested there was close cooperation between Israel and forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when rival Hamas militants overran the Gaza Strip three years ago.
The Dec. 20 disclosure could embarrass Abbas and his Fatah movement, which Hamas had already accused of working with the Israelis. Abbas’ standing among Palestinians has already been weakened by his failure to make progress in peacemaking with Israel.
The June 13, 2007 memo from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv — citing a conversation that took place during a civil war in Gaza that ended with the Hamas takeover — cites Israeli Security Agency chief Yuval Diskin as saying Israel had “established a very good working relationship” with two branches of the Palestinian security service.
Abbas’ internal security agency, he said, “shares with ISA almost all the intelligence that it collects.”
Collaboration with Israeli security is seen by Palestinians as an onerous offense, and the ISA, also known as the Shin Bet, is reviled by Palestinians. Although Israeli and Palestinian security forces are known to cooperate, the leaked cable showing the tight coordination with Israel could further weaken Abbass’ standing.
The Shin Bet had no comment on the newly released memo. An official with Abbas’ government played down the information, saying “information-sharing between us and Israel is limited to field information that serves our security and the interest of our people.”
Other recent disclosures from WikiLeaks:
• Some leaders of Fatah urged Israel to intervene in the infighting in Gaza, Diskin said. He described those leaders as “desperate, disorganized and demoralized,” but didn’t identify them by name.
• Diskin expressed opposition to a U.S. proposal to supply ammunition and weapons to Fatah, fearful that Hamas might get its hands on them instead.
• A cable sent from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv in November 2009 warned that Israel’s relationship with Egypt and Jordan is “fraying.” The cable said “Israel enjoys peace with Egypt and Jordan, but not with its people.”
• The same cable said that when Israel assesses U.S. arms sales in the region, it approaches it from a “worse case” scenario in which it believes moderate Arab nations such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia could fall victim to regime change and resume hostilities against Israel.
• The cable also said, “The transformation of [formerly exiled Lebanese politician and ex–military commander] Michel Aoun into Hezballah’s primary Lebanese ally may be the final nail in the coffin of Israel’s decades-old relations with Lebanon’s Maronite Christians.”
• The cable pointed out that Israel’s seizure of a ship with a large cargo of Iranian arms on Nov. 3, 2009 provided “tangible proof of Iran’s involvement in arming Hamas and Hezbullah.”
• Another cable from 2009 quoted a high-level Israeli military official telling a top U.S. official that Syria would end its alliance with Iran in exchange for peace with Israel and greater U.S. involvement in the process. The cable quoted Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, the head of Israel’s Military Intelligence research division.
• The same cable pointed to Israeli officials warning U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, that the Shiite guerrilla group was working hand-in-hand with the Lebanese army.
J. wire services contributed to this report.