Fatah asked Israel to attack Hamas

An American diplomatic cable published Monday says Israel and the Palestinian Authority worked closely together against Hamas as it took over Gaza.

The 2007 cable, released by WikiLeaks, quoted Yuval Diskin, left, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service, as saying that the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus shares with Israel “almost all the intelligence that it collects.”

The cable said, “They understand that Israel’s security is central to their survival in the struggle with Hamas in the West Bank.”

The authority’s forces in Gaza were being routed by Hamas at the time. “They are approaching a zero-sum situation, and yet they ask us to attack Hamas,”

Mr. Diskin was quoted as saying. “We have never seen this before. They are desperate.” A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the comments were based on an assessment and evaluation rather than solid information.