[On Wednesday, the PA acknowledged that it paid the salaries of 3,500
members of the Executive Force in the Gaza Strip despite a ban on helping
Hamas. Officials said the salaries to Hamas were paid from Western aid due
to a computer error, Middle East Newsline reported.]
The PA already operates a modern security training facility in the West
Bank town of Jericho. But the sources said the facility has been underused
amid the PA failure to reorganize and reform its 80,000-member security
force.
"The Americans want to first develop the Jericho facility before
building additional training bases," the source said. "The PA regards a base
in Bethlehem as an important part of its strategy to impose its rule over
the West Bank."
Over the last month, the PA has acquired assault weapons, munitions and
computers financed by the United States. The U.S. assistance came in wake of
the Hamas capture of all the weapons, vehicles and communications supplied
to forces loyal to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the Gaza Strip in 2007.
The proposal was part of a PA plan to enhance security capabilities in
the West Bank in wake of the establishment of the Hamas regime in the Gaza
Strip. The plan also called for the PA procurement of nearly 100 armored
vehicles for NSF and PG.
The latest PA security request also includes jeeps, body armor, grenades
and combat equipment. The sources said the equipment could be purchased with
a U.S. allocation of $80 million for PA security reform.
The proposed PA training base would require approval by Israel, the
sources said. In 2000, southern Jerusalem came under nightly machine gun
fire by PA security forces and Fatah operatives based in Bethlehem.
The U.S. project to reform the PA security forces has been led by Lt.
Gen. Keith Dayton. Dayton has recommended the creation of an NSF battalion
that would specialize in riot control.
The Palestinian sources said the United States has failed to meet its
deadlines in training PA security forces. They said the United States has
been unable to recruit a sufficient number of instructors in the West Bank.
The U.S. embassy, citing security threats, has banned private and reduced
official travel to the West Bank.