GAZA CITY — The Palestinian Authority has ordered deployment of at
least 7,500 security forces near Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip being
prepared for evacuation.
PA officials said about 5,000 troops have completed training and would
be sent to surround Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip in coordination
with Israeli military forces. They said unarmed Palestinian officers would
be sent to positions outside the 21 Israeli settlements as well as along
roads used by Jews in the area.
"The goal is to protect the Israelis from attacks from resistance
groups," a PA source said. "The resistance groups will have to get past our
forces."
The officials said Israel's military and the PA security forces have
established a joint command and control facility to coordinate troop
movement during the evacuation, scheduled to begin on Aug. 17. They said the
facility would be manned around the clock by police and security commanders
from Israel, the PA and Western monitors.
[On Thursday, an estimated 250,000 Israelis attended a rally to foil the
Israeli withdrawal. At the rally, the protesters swore allegiance to
Israel's retention of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the military has
quietly inserted troops in Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip for the
evacuation operation.]
The 5,000 PA forces prepared for deployment have completed two weeks of
training, some of which was provided by Egyptian military personnel. The
officials said the PA personnel were drawn from the police and National
Security Forces.
The PA would deploy another 2,500 troops to bolster the new force around
the Jewish communities. Officials said the deployment would be completed by
Aug. 16.
Officials said the chief aim was to prevent Palestinian insurgency
groups from launching missile and mortar attacks on Israelis during the
withdrawal, expected to take up to three weeks. The Gaza Strip was
meant to be handed over to the PA by October 2005.
The PA also intends to deploy 700 troops in the northern West Bank,
where Israel plans to evacuate four Jewish communities. Officials said the
Palestinian officers would be based in the northern West Bank city of Jenin
by the end of the month.
