Israel Okays PA forces deployment in Jenin but refuses Hebron

Monday April 07, 2008 12:47 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC News

Israeli media sources reported that the Israeli government approved the deployment of Palestinian Authority security forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Monday.

PA officer - Photo by IMEMC Ghassan Bannoura - File 2008

Online Haaretz said that in talks between Israeli, Palestinian, and American officials , Israelis and Palestinians – agreed on the  deployment of PA forces in Jenin. The Palestinian Authority also asked Israel to permit the deployment of  PA forces in the West Bank city of Hebron but Israeli refused because of the Israeli settlers living in and around the city.  Israeli settlers are live in illegal  outposts inside the old city of Hebron and  in huge settlement blocks surrounding it. Israeli security officials said that the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah demanded the deployment in Hebron to counter the growth of Hamas in the city. Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections of January 2006, shortly after the movement formed the National Unity government; later during bloody infighting with Fatah, Hamas ended the infighting by taking control of the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah now controls the West Bank. The PA forces to be  deployed in Jenin, consist of 620 officers, who have been trained in Jordan under the supervision of the U.S.

jenin | peace process | news report ghassanb at imemc dot org