Israel cut security ties with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Jerusalem this week over the arrest of a Palestinian man accused of selling land to Israeli Jews. Both sides have threatened such action in the past, but this is the first time either one has carried out its threat.
Why it matters: Security is one of the few areas where cooperation between Israel and the PA had remained strong despite the breakdown in peace talks — and that’s in both sides’ interest. Palestinian security services coordinate with Israel in the fight against their common enemy, Hamas, in the West Bank. Now Palestinian police are blocked from accessing the suburbs of East Jerusalem, where several PA officials have been arrested.
