Palestinian Authority police and the Israel Defense Forces are teaming up for another try at cooperative management of law enforcement and security in parts of PA-controlled Judea and Samaria. Meanwhile, Japan is set to show its support for joint Israeli-PA ventures.
In a return to the expired five-year plan described in the 1993 Oslo Accords, the PA police will resume control over law enforcement in Area B, while the IDF will retain its management of overall security.
The move comes as a result of agreements worked out during last week’s meeting in Jericho between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
This will be the first time since 2002 that the PA will be responsible for law enforcement in Area B, where it will deal with drug abuse and smuggling, car theft and other criminal activity. Theft of vehicles from pre-1967 Israel by PA Arabs, who bring the cars into Judea and Samaria, is common.
When Israel has relied on PA forces to police the Arab areas in the past, numerous documented instances of PA officials driving cars stolen from Israel were recorded.
For example, in the last week of October 1997, Palestinian Legislative Council member Mussa Abu Sabah was arrested driving a stolen car into Gaza. During the same week on October 27th, a senior PA security officer was caught riding in car stolen from Tel Aviv.
At the time, Minister of Public Security Avigdor Kahalani said that he fears that PA officials take advantage of their VIP status to smuggle not only stolen cars, but also weapons and ammunition, into the autonomous areas.
Kahalani said that it is a "sign of disgrace for the PA that its leaders are behind the stolen-car operations." Thirty-two thousand cars were stolen in Israel during the first nine months of 1997.
Area B is the region designated in the Oslo Accords where Israel controls security, and the PA police force was to manage day to day activity against criminals and other law breakers.
Judea and Samaria were broken up into three separate regions under the 1993 agreement as part of the process that was to create peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The PA was granted full control over both military security and law enforcement in Area A, which includes part of Hevron. Israel continued to control security and police in Area C which includes the Jewish towns and villages of Judea and Samaria.
After constant terrorism emanating from all three areas made it clear that the PA was either unwilling or unable to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, however, Israel resumed its military control over parts of Area A and B with Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002.
Japan Increases its Involvement in Israel-PA Affairs
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso is expected to announce during his visit to Israel Monday that his country will resume direct funding to the PA government, beginning with an immediate gift of $20 million to the Abbas administration.
The move comes as part of a general increase in Japan’s involvement in the region. Aso met with Jordanian monarch Abdullah II prior to his arrival in Israel, bringing with him a plan to provide assistance to PA Arabs and Iraqi citizens who live in the Hashemite kingdom.
Aso also plans to announce Japanese support for joint Israel-PA-Jordan projects such as the proposed Dead Sea-Red Sea canal which would carry Red Sea water to replenish the rapidly-disappearing Dead Sea, as well as a three-way agricultural initiative.
It is in Japan’s interests to maintain a sense of calm, if not peace in the region, since the Far Eastern nation is dependent on Arab oil.
Baruch Gordon contributed to this story.