Israel mulls further gestures to Abbas

The Israeli government is mulling a Palestinian request to transfer security control of additional Palestinian controlled areas in the West Bank as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The territory under consideration for transfer are sites in Area B assigned under the Oslo Accords to Palestinian civil control and Israeli security control and Area C which under the accords granted Israel full control. The issue was reportedly raised during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta during his visit to Israel earlier this week.