PA deployment in Hebron finalised, progress hailed in Jenin

The Israeli authorities have agreed to the deployment of a platoon of 200 members of the Palestinian Authority security forces in the city of Hebron, which will join 2,000 PA security personnel who are already deployed in the city. The force will be engaged in cracking down on Hamas activities and infrastructure. Conservative, religious Hebron is a central place of activity for a variety of Palestinian Islamist organisations. The PA forces to be deployed are personnel who have undergone training with the Jordanian security forces in previous months. Originally, the force had been scheduled to take up its positions in Hebron in December. However, the Palestinian Authority has requested that the deployment be moved up. Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai, head of the IDF Civil Administration in the West Bank, is due to meet with his Palestinian counterpart next week to discuss this request.

The Palestinian request for an early deployment of the force was made against a background of political instability. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is due to finish his term on 9 January, but is understood to be seeking, with international support, to extend his period in office. If he does not stand down, clashes between Fatah and Hamas are expected, and the additional deployment in Hebron is being seen as part of PA preparation for this. But the request also reflects the improved performance of PA security forces in the West Bank in the last months. Jewish settler leaders in the Hebron area have objected to the planned Hebron deployment, and have sent a letter to Defence Minister Barak urging him not to allow it.

The city of Jenin was selected by Israel, the PA and international bodies as the area in which the performance of the revamped PA security forces would be tested. Earlier this year, Israeli security forces eased travel restrictions in the Jenin area, and scaled back its operations in the vicinity.  The new Palestinian security forces, whose training has been partly directed and monitored by western officers, then deployed. Their performance so far has received generally positive responses. Quartet Middle East Envoy Tony Blair, who visited the city by yesterday, praised the governor of Jenin for the "great progress and work done over the past six months." The generally positive results in Jenin are now making possible the further scaling back of IDF activities and more extensive deployment of PA security forces. There remains widespread scepticism, however, among Israeli officials regarding the ability and willingness of the Fatah dominated security forces to deal effectively with Hamas. The latter have been avoiding confrontation in the last months, but remain a very strong presence in the West bank. The acid test for the PA, and hence for hopes for a renewed diplomatic process, will be whether the PA security forces are able and willing to impose the policy decisions of PA Chairman Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad decisively on the ground.

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