
A group of demonstrators wave the Palestinian flag on Dec. 31, 2009.
To protest Israel's aggressive annexation push, the Palestinian Authority is beginning to act on longstanding threats to cease coordination with Israeli authorities in the West Bank. On May 19, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared an end to decades of security and intelligence cooperation with Israel and its main ally, the United States. The timing puts pressure on the Israeli government just before it's slated to begin annexing portions of the West Bank in July, and will raise the risk of violence and unrest in the area. If this rupture deepens and endures, it will undo the coordination between Israeli and Palestinian Authority police and intelligence forces that has helped guarantee some stability in the West Bank since the signing of the 1993 Oslo accords.