Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — After a suspension of more than a decade, Israel and the
Palestinian Authority were examining the prospect of joint security patrols.

Officials said Israel and the PA have been urged by the United States to
renew joint security patrols in the West Bank. They said the proposal was
seen as a confidence-building measure to expand PA security responsibilities
in areas under formal Israeli control.

“There is currently a working group that is looking into coordination that could create something totally new, mutual police patrols,” Israel police commissioner Yohanan Danino said.

At a news conference on Aug. 21, Danino joined his PA counterpart, Brig. Gen. Hazem Atallah, in disclosing the proposed return of joint police patrols. Danino said the plan was being overseen by the Israel Army, which
maintains formal control over the West Bank.

The Israel Army and PA police conducted joint patrols for several years in the 1990s. But the patrols were abandoned in 2000 during the launch of the Palestinian revolt — when PA officers began firing at their Israeli colleagues.

Officials said the latest proposal envisioned Israeli and PA officers
focusing on reckless driving along major roads in the West Bank. They cited
Highway 60, which stretches 50 kilometers from north to south and used by
both Arab and Jewish motorists.

“The plans have not been completed,” Atallah said at the news conference
in the West Bank city of Jericho, located near the Jordanian border.

The concept of joint patrols has been supported by the administration of
President Barack Obama. Officials said a U.S. organization, Police Executive
Research Forum, was assigned to bring Israel and PA police for discussions
on areas of cooperation. They said the discussions took place over the last
year.

The discussions also included representatives from neighboring Jordan.
Officials said the three sides discussed joint efforts to counter smuggling
and human trafficking from and to the West Bank.

For his part, Danino said Israel, Jordan and the PA were committed to
submitting a plan for cooperation by Oct. 1. The Israeli police chief said
the plan might not include joint patrols.

  Brig. Gen. Hazem Atallah, Israel, Palestinian Authority consider renewing joint patrols, West Bank, Yohanan Danino