On May 25, Tirawi told a security conference in Bethlehem that foreign
intelligence agencies must respect Palestinian sovereignty, Middle East Newsline reported. The former GI
commander did not identify the foreign intelligence agencies.
But PA security sources cited the intelligence agencies of Britain,
Egypt, France, Israel, Jordan, Russia and the United States as operating in
the West Bank. The sources said the foreign intelligence agencies usually
base their agents in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
"Ramallah is becoming the intelligence listening post of the Levant," a
PA security source said. "You see them [foreign intelligence operatives]
everywhere."
Tirawi, who resigned from GI in late 2008, said PA security agencies
were improving their skills amid Western training and guidance. Still, he
said, any reform of the PA security forces must be led by Palestinians
themselves.
"There are strong and talented security forces that can lead the
Palestinian community and take care of security," Tirawi told the conference
by the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces.
The conference, organized by the Geneva Center, was aimed to help
Palestinians control their own security agencies. The United States and the
European Union have been training, equipping and mentoring PA security
forces.
The PA has been operating the Palestinian Academy for Security Sciences,
established to enhance security technology and methods. On June 1, the
academy received a new chairman, Nur Eddin Abu Al Rub, appointed by PA
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Tirawi has been the head of the academy's advisory
council.
"It will hopefully be capable of carrying out its mission professionally
to help Palestinian institutions counter challenges effectively," Al Rub
said.
