The sources said virtually every PA security agency has expanded. The
biggest increase was in the police, National Security Authority and the
Preventive Security Apparatus.
The civilian police has grown from about 5,000 to 7,700 over the last
two years, Middle East Newsline reported. Under programs by the European Union, the civilian police now
contains a special operations force with 1,300 officers. The SOF unit has
been trained by French officer Jean Frederic Martin.
NSA was said to have grown from about 6,000 to about 10,000 troops. The
United States has overseen a program meant to train 10 NSA battalions in
Jordan, half of which already completed the course.
But the sources said the growth of PA security agencies have not been
coordinated through the Interior Ministry. They cited the expansion of PSA
and GIS, from 2,500 to 4,300 and from 1,000 to 2,500, respectively.
"These agencies have a lot more people now so they are moving into areas
not assigned to them," the source said.
The growth of PSA and GIS has dismayed the EU. The head of the EU
training program, Henrik Malmquist, said PA security agencies have
encroached on the authority of the civilian police and thus undermining its
authority.
"The fact that there are a number of different security agencies does
not necessarily make matters easier," Malmquist, a Swedish national, said.
In an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Malmquist cited the PA
effort to control protests. He said it was unclear which force has the lead
authority in handing civil unrest.
"Shared responsibility is no responsibility," Malmquist said. "I would
have preferred that the civilian police be the main agency, and if they
needed help, then they could ask for it."