The law and order campaign was said to have begun in late October in the
Bethlehem district. Police and the National Security Forces cooperated in a
series of raids of suspected chop shops and seized nearly 100 unregistered
vehicles. Six people were arrested in the Bethlehem-area town of Beit Fajar.
PA security forces have also intervened to stop violence by Palestinian
clans. Officials said police and NSF units, which arrested 34 people,
conducted operations to stop clan battles in the West Bank cities of Hebron
and Kalkilya.
In Jericho, authorities raided businesses said to have imported foul
meat from neighboring Jordan. On Oct. 21, 300 kilograms of unfit meat was
reported to have been seized and several importers were arrested.
For its part, NSF has been training to identity and defuse bombs.
Officials said NSF bomb squads were operating in towns in the northern West
Bank, deemed as containing a large presence of opposition Hamas and Islamic
Jihad agents.
Officials said the campaign has been overseen by the European Union and
the United States, responsible for training the police and security forces.
In October, the EU COPPS program concluded training of PA officers and
prosecutors in crime scene investigation, particularly forensics.
"The EU engagement will remain intense and focused in order to achieve
the goals of the Palestinian Authority in the security area, in cooperation
and coordination with the other donors and in full partnership with the
Palestinian Authority," EU special representative Marc Otte said during a
visit to Bethlehem on Oct. 10.