Border police officers spoke to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday after Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly discussed the possibility of joint Israeli-Palestinian Authority patrols in Judea and Samaria with PA head Salam Fayyad.  The officers said they would refuse to take part in joint patrols if such an order was given, and expressed anger at the government.

The officers mentioned the murder of Yossi Tabaja, who was killed by his PA patrol partner in 2000.  “For us it’s even worse than the murders that were carried out with the weapons we gave the PA,” they said.  “Here not only did we give the policemen the weapon, but the government of Israel put the victim—that is to say, us—in the jeep with the murderer.”

Border Police commanders responded by saying that they had not received any orders involving joint patrols.  If they were ordered to carry out joint patrols, they would do so, they said.  “We do not choose our missions,” they said.