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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
New US-trained Palestinian police bested by handful of terrorists
2008-05-21
Hundreds of so-called "elite" Palestinian police officers trained and equipped by the US have been failing miserably in their efforts to root out handfuls of terrorists in the Samarian towns of Jenin and Nablus.

US military advisor to the Palestinian Authority, General Keith Dayton personally oversaw the training of the paramilitary police, and then pressured Israel to let them take over security control of Jenin and Nablus as a test case to determine the Palestinians' ability to fulfill their security obligations.

But Israeli military officials that have been monitoring the progress of the new Palestinian forces told WorldNetDaily this week that they are proving impotent against the terrorist infrastructures embedded in those towns.

According to the Israelis, hundreds of Palestinian police have been sent in several times over the past few weeks to flush out and arrest small groups of terrorists, but have tucked tail and retreated after coming under fire on each occasion.

In the most embarrassing incident, some 300 Palestinian police were repeatedly repelled by only 13 terrorist gunmen in Nablus. Incidentally, the 13 terrorists were all pardoned by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last June on condition that they disarm and renounce violence.

The Israeli officials speaking to WorldNetDaily said that in the end, the Nablus police force had no choice but to seek assistance from the Israeli army, which quickly stormed the terrorist stronghold and killed one of the terrorist leaders, while forcing the others to flee.

"I don't know how they can handle security without Israel backing them up," said one of the Israelis.

The land-for-peace process being pushed forward by Washington is based on the premise that the Palestinians can and will impose security control over territories surrendered to them by Israel and prevent anti-Israel terrorist violence emanating from a Palestinian state.

Many Israelis have already concluded that the Palestinian Authority is incapable of fulfilling its obligations after it lost control of the Gaza Strip last year, despite significantly outnumbering its Hamas rivals.
Posted by:tipper

#5  No amount of training can change somebody's basic nature. "Palestinian Police" are terrorists---US SF training just makes them
much more dangerous terrorists.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-05-21 14:14  

#4  "But Israeli military officials that have been monitoring the progress of the new Palestinian forces told WorldNetDaily this week that they are proving impotent against the terrorist infrastructures embedded in those towns."

Anon sources, per a heavily biased news org. I wouldnt buy it from the left, and I dont buy it here. Everything Ive read everywhere else, INCLUDING the Jer Post, leads me to think the Jenin deployment has gone reasonably well.

The incident that is specifically mentioned is in Nablus. Well from everything Ive read elsewhere, the new police have mainly gone into Jenin, not Nablus, specifically at the request of Israel. Im not sure the source of the disconnect here, but I wouldnt assume WND has it right.

And even if ALL of this is true, it certainly shows that the PA is attempting to fight terrorists, and in Nablus called in the IDF when they failed, which is certainly progress over the PA trying to keep the IDF out.

And yes, it can take awhile for a new sec force to find its legs. Again, if this were MSM reporting on the Iraqi army, we'd all reiterate that.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2008-05-21 12:39  

#3  Yeah, but they can jump through flaming hoops real well!
Posted by: anonymous5089   2008-05-21 12:04  

#2  Incidentally, the 13 terrorists were all pardoned by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last June on condition that they disarm and renounce violence.

Well can ya beat that...ya'd almost think they had this planned all along.
Posted by: tu3031   2008-05-21 11:58  

#1  "I don't know how they can handle security without Israel backing them up," said one of the Israelis.

They face the same thing as the Iraqi police did earlier. The terrorists will kill them and their families if the police start getting effective. Unless you kill the terrorists, the police will continue to not function.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-05-21 11:45  

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