JERUSALEM, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Israeli leaders are considering a package of goodwill measures for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, sources say.
Gestures such as the transfer of security for a Palestinian town in the West Bank, such as Tulkarm, to Palestinian Authority security forces are being mulled as ways to avoid undermining Abbas if Israel proceeds with a prisoner swap with his rival, the Gaza militant group Hamas, unnamed sources told Tuesday's Jerusalem Post.
An unnamed official in the office of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Post that such moves was necessary to prevent the "weakening" of the PA in the event of a major Hamas prisoner release in exchange for kidnapped Israeli solider Gilad Schalit.
"A prisoner swap could undermine the PA in the West Bank and just strengthen Hamas," the official said to the Post. "Israel will likely have to make a simultaneous gesture to the PA to prevent that from happening."
