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Abbas Boosts West Bank Role

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The Associated Press

Published: October 26, 2008

HEBRON, West Bank - Nearly 600 newly trained Palestinian troops took up positions in this tense city on Saturday, as part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' attempt to expand his control in the West Bank and keep Hamas in line.

Hebron, a former Hamas stronghold, is the third Palestinian city to be reinforced with Abbas' forces. The predawn deployment signaled growing security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

An Israeli army statement said, however, that the Palestinian operation is a temporary measure to help combat the Islamic militants and maintain public order and did not constitute a transfer of overall security responsibility from Israeli to Palestinian forces.

The troops arrived before dawn, during the Jewish Sabbath, a time apparently chosen to prevent protests by hundreds of Israeli settlers who live in several heavily fortified enclaves in the city. Hebron is divided into an Israeli-controlled downtown area, and the larger Palestinian-run sector of the city.

In recent months, Abbas has been trying to take over more areas of the once unruly West Bank, though Israel retains overall security control. Abbas' forces deployed first in Nablus and Jenin, and now in Hebron, targeting local thugs, criminals and Hamas supporters.

Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, leaving Abbas only in control of the West Bank. Abbas has closed Hamas-linked organizations and arrested hundreds of supporters to prevent Hamas from taking over the West Bank.

Hamas accused Abbas of collaborating with Israel.

"This the deployment comes as a reward by the occupation forces after what they have done against Hamas, their nonstop efforts to eliminate Hamas," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman.

Several hundred Palestinian police officers were already stationed in Hebron before the arrival of the reinforcements.

The new contingent of 585 officers, some trained in Jordan under U.S. guidance, drove into Hebron in jeeps, vans and buses early Saturday and assembled at the city's security headquarters. By midmorning, they were patrolling city streets.

Hebron's Palestinian security chief, Samih Seifi, said he was determined to impose order.

"We will arrest whoever tries to stop us, and we will not let anyone deter us," Seifi said.

The Palestinian forces will not patrol the Israeli-controlled sector.

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