Palestinians wearing face masks walk on a street in Gaza City, during the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, on Sept. 5, 2020. Palestine on Saturday recorded seven new death cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 199. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said Tuesday it will restore coordination with Israel, ending a six-month suspension, on the eve of a planned visit to the Jewish state by Washington's top diplomat.

Mahmud Abbas, Palestinian president, had announced a halt to coordination with Israel, including US-backed security cooperation, in May in response to Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

"In the light of Mahmud Abbas' international contacts... and given the written and verbal commitments we have received from the Israelis, we will resume relations where they were before May 19, 2020," Hussein al-Sheikh, the PA's civil affairs minister, said late Tuesday.

His announcement comes on the eve of a visit to Israel by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State in outgoing US President Donald Trump's administration, under which US-Palestine relations collapsed.  

Sheikh's announcement follows Abbas congratulating US Democratic candidate Joe Biden just over a week ago on his presidential election victory, which he said gave rise to hopes of an improvement in "Palestinian-American relations."

President-elect Biden has said his administration will restore US opposition to Israeli settlements, after Trump broke with decades of American policy and international consensus by failing to condemn such construction.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Tuesday: "We will resume contacts with the Israelis on financial issues, on health issues, on political issues.

AFP