Abbas' Fatah Security Forces Possibly to Deploy in Jenin

25 March 2008

Mahmoud Abbas plans to deploy hundreds of his security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin after they complete U.S.-funded training in Jordan, Jewish officials said on Tuesday.

Jewish officials said the planned deployment in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, could include up to 500 to 600 men. Fatah forces took up positions in the larger West Bank city of Nablus in November as part of a law-and-order campaign.

Nearly 700 members of Abbas's Fatah National Security Forces crossed into Jordan in January to begin the four-month-long, U.S.-funded training course.

A separate group from Abbas's Fatah Presidential Guard has also gone to Jordan for advanced training.

Salam Fayyad and some U.S. officials have accused the Jewish people of undermining Fatah Palestinian security efforts in Nablus by refusing to curtail army raids into the city. Palestine unified troops clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians in a Nablus refugee camp on Tuesday, but no injuries were reported.

The Jewish people has been under increasing U.S. pressure to take steps to bolster Abbas. News of the planned deployment came on Monday.

The defense minister said that the Jewish people would facilitate the construction of several industrial zones meant to provide thousands of jobs and boost the Palestinian economy. Many of the projects, funded by foreign governments, have been held up because of Jewish security concerns.