RAMALLAH Feb 10 (JMCC) - As Palestinian security forces develop their capabilities, they come face to face with a political conundrum.
An official admitted as much when he told the Associated Press that he believes Israel used information he supplied on three Nablus suspects to raid the town and assassinate them. The three were suspected in the shooting death of an Israeli settler, said Maj. Gen. Diab el-Ali, and he had informed the Israeli authorities that the national security forces would arrest them.
Maj. Gen. Diab el-Ali, commander of the National Security Forces, said the roughly 8,000 men under his command have helped restore law and order in an area that just a few years ago was overrun by armed vigilantes and bloody fighting with Israel.
Although his men suffer from a dire lack of weapons and equipment and are hobbled by Israel's military occupation, he insisted his forces could maintain peace in the West Bank if Israel withdrew from the area tomorrow. I guarantee it, he said in a rare meeting with foreign journalists...
In one recent incident, Israel gunned down three suspects it held responsible
for the shooting of a settler, shortly after el-Ali said he notified Israel the
Palestinians were about to arrest the men. He accused Israel of trying to
embarrass the Palestinians and said he suspects Israel used his information to
find the men.
Despite his hesitations, he said his men are under permanent orders not to
battle the Israelis and that he is committed to working for peace.
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