TEL AVIV Ñ The United States plans to resume training of Palestinian
security agencies.
Israeli diplomatic sources said a delegation from the CIA plans to
arrive imminently in Israel and travel to the West Bank to direct the
training of PA security personnel. The sources said the training would take
place in the West Bank city of Jericho by the end of the month.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has approved the U.S. security training for
PA agencies, the sources said. They said the training would be accompanied
by the transfer of funding and equipment to Palestinian forces. Egypt,
Jordan and the European Union would also participate in the effort.
Under the plan, the United States will pay, supervise and draft courses
for the training of PA forces. The actual training would be conducted by
Egyptian and Jordanian security officers.
The training course would comprise 20 Palestinian cadets. Training
would last for about two weeks and include instruction in counterinsurgency,
weapons, intelligence gathering and human rights.
The sources said the Israeli approval is for the first CIA training
course as part of efforts to reform PA security agencies. But they said they
expect Sharon to continue approval for future courses and insist on vetting
those Palestinians who would receive training.
The CIA is said to have allocated up to $70 million for the
restructuring and training of PA agencies. U.S. officials said the
allocation would not be submitted to the full Congress for approval but
would come out of the CIA budget.
PA Interior Minister Abdul Razik Yehye has confirmed that the CIA will
soon begin security training. Yehye said the CIA suspended training two
years ago during the start of the Israeli-Palestinian war.
The Israeli approval came amid a revival of Palestinian security
activity in Bethlehem. The PA security agencies and police have renewed
operations amid a deal with Israel that included the return of cars stolen
from Israel and kept in Bethlehem.
