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Israel: Handover of Security Control of West Bank Cities "Not on the Table"

[Jerusalem Post] Herb Keinon and Yaakov Katz - Israel has no intention at this time of transferring security responsibility for Palestinian cities in the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, Israeli government officials said Thursday in response to a report in the London-based Arabic paper Al Quds, which quoted Palestinian sources as saying Israel would soon stop its counterterrorism activities in Jericho and Kalkilya and place security responsibility for those two cities in the PA's hands. "They first have to have an effective security service in place," one official said. While transferring security control of the cities could ultimately take place, it is currently not even on the table, one official said. A senior officer in the IDF Central Command said, "The Palestinians first need to prove their sincerity. Until then, there is no reason to grant them control of security over a city in the West Bank."
2007-07-20 01:00:00
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