Both agencies have been determined to be leading
violators of human rights, with several Palestinian detainees dying in their
custody. Up to 1,000 Hamas operatives have been jailed by the two agencies
this year, Middle East Newsline reported.
"GIS and PSA brief the U.S. intelligence community on a steady basis
regarding developments within Hamas, the Gaza Strip and even the circle
around [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas," the source said. "The CIA sees these
two agencies as its extension in the Palestinian sphere."
Western diplomats confirmed CIA support of the two PA
security agencies. They said CIA representatives have penetrated both
security agencies and coopted their leadership through large payoffs.
The diplomats and Palestinian sources said the CIA role was not
conducted in cooperation with U.S. security coordinator Lt. Gen. Michael
Moeller. They said Moeller's predecessor, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, regarded
the CIA role as potentially embarrassing to the PA.
Under Dayton, who left office in August, both GIS and PSA refused
to participate in U.S. security programs. During his five-year tenure,
Dayton succeeded in recruiting only the National Security Forces for a
four-month training course in Jordan. Some intelligence officers took
part in a Dayton-sponsored course in Ramallah in 2009.
The PA has confirmed the CIA link to Palestinian security agencies. But
senior officials denied that the CIA controlled the security forces.
"There is a connection, but there is no supervision by the Americans,"
Interior Minister Said Abu Ali said. "It is solely a Palestinian affair. But
the Americans help us."