The Palestinian Authority (PA) has claimed that Israel sent a letter of apology for a counter-terrorist operation in Shechem after the PA deployed its forces in the city in an attempt to prove it can control terror. The IDF arrested 20 wanted terrorists during the operation.

The United States has criticized Israel for the action, and PA Foreign Minister Riad Maliki maintained that Israel said it would not happen again. American envoy Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton supervised the training of the PA officers in Shechem, which is considered a test case for both him and the PA.