Special to WorldTribune.com

RAMALLAH — A intelligence chief has been playing a key role in Palestinian Authority talks with the United States.

Palestinian sources said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has made Majid Faraj a key adviser and member of the Palestinian negotiating team with Israel and the United States.

They said Faraj was participating in PA meetings with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Faraj is clearly the most professional loyalist in Abbas’ entourage, and the Americans also like him very much,” a source said.

The sources said Faraj would travel to the United States to prepare for a PA summit in Washington on March 17. They said Faraj would accompany PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat in meetings with Kerry and his envoy, Martin Indyk.

Over the last two years, Faraj has become the de facto chief of the Palestinian intelligence community. Faraj heads the General Intelligence Services and Military Intelligence and was said to have become influential in the Western-trained Preventive Security Apparatus.

The sources said Faraj was authorized to discuss U.S. proposals for
security arrangements as part of a Palestinian state in the West Bank. They
said Faraj has discussed details of the U.S. plan with Gen. John Allen, who
drafted a roadmap for Israeli withdrawal.

  John Kerry, Mahmoud Abbas, Majid Faraj, Martin Indyk, Palestinian intel chief plays key role in negotiations with U.S., plays key role in negotiations with U.S.