The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Friday it will start issuing personal documents for Palestinian Arabs without having the papers validated by Israel as in the past, AFP reported.
The move follows PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' announcement last month of an end to all agreements with Israel over its plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
"We are now registering our citizens in our own databases, without sending them to Israel as we did before, according to instructions not to work with Israel on this subject," PA “interior ministry” spokesman Ghassan Nimr told AFP.
"We are working on setting up a new framework based on coordination with the international community to allow us to move freely without the approval of Israel," said Nimr, without giving details.
PA officials are outraged over the coalition agreement between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, which stipulates that the government can apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria in July.
The end of coordination with Israel has not yet had any impact on Palestinian Arab travel due to closure of the borders of Israel and PA territories due to coronavirus restrictions, but when crossings are reopened thousands of Palestinian Arabs could find themselves stranded.
The PA has taken its battle against the sovereignty plan to the United Nations, seeking official condemnation by the international body against the Jewish state. (INN)
