[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Katz - While Palestinian officials continued to threaten Sunday to unilaterally declare independence, a senior Israeli defense official said, "Just let them try." Even though the past year has seen an unprecedented improvement in the performance of Palestinian security forces and civilian institutions - largely due to increased cooperation with Israel - the PA is still far from being able to hold it together on its own. Despite the deployment of Palestinian forces in the West Bank trained by U.S. Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, whenever PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas travels outside of Ramallah, Israeli security forces are involved to coordinate and ensure his safety. "The PA forces cannot yet completely ensure his security," one officer explained.
2009-11-16 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive