Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s plan to remove checkpoints in Judea and Samaria as a “gesture” to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah has been postponed due to objections from the IDF and General Security Services (Shabak). IDF and GSS officials say the checkpoints are an effective way of catching terrorists, and warn that if checkpoints are removed the chances of suicide bombings will increase.

Several other “gestures” have been approved, including the transfer of weapons and over $500 million to Fatah. The gestures have been made in advance of Olmert’s meeting with Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and Jordanian King Abdullah II in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.