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New U.S. Security Plan for the West Bank Could Endanger Israel
(Tablet) Tony Badran - The U.S. is proposing to create and train a 5,000-man Palestinian commando force that would ostensibly fight terrorism in the West Bank in place of the IDF. The plan, drafted by U.S. security coordinator Lt.-Gen. Michael Fenzel and presented to the Israeli government and the PA, envisions a special Palestinian force that would supposedly go after militias in Jenin and Nablus. By creating a working military command structure for a 5,000-strong militia, training it in counterterrorism and commando tactics, and arming and equipping it, the U.S. will be giving the Palestinians military capacities far in excess of anything they can organically create or currently possess. The plan is shockingly at variance with previous U.S. equip-and-train programs in the West Bank, as evident from the type of training it will receive. Rather than be a gendarmerie or border guard, it would be a well-equipped 5,000-man army. How such training will be used should not be a mystery. The idea of a Palestinian force actually "countering" Palestinian terror is unprecedented, meaning it has never happened. The terrorists themselves are part of the Palestinian Authority's security establishment. An Israeli official recently noted that "Some PA security force members have taken to selling ammunition and weapons to [Palestinian terrorist] fighters throughout the West Bank."