After the United States reportedly backed a request by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, the Israeli army is preparing for potentially not being able to invade P.A. controlled areas at will. The army told Israel’s daily, Haaretz, that this issue will not have a significant impact on the security situation in the occupied territories.
The P.A. has been asking the United States to intervene but Israel repeatedly rejected such demands.
The areas in question are located in Area A under the Oslo peace agreement; Area A includes Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tulkarem, Qalqilia, Hebron, Nablus, Jericho and Jenin.
The Israeli army carries out invasions regularly and kidnaps Palestinians believed to be members of the resistance. The arrests target organizers of nonviolent resistance, students, political leaders, and in some cases resistance fighters.
Washington agreed to intervene in order to limit the invasions especially since the Palestinian Security Forces in the West Bank are trained by the United States.
Haaretz reported that Israeli Army officers in the West Bank told its reporter that the security cooperation with the Palestinian Security Forces, and the capabilities of the Shin Bet security apparatus enable Israel to deal with a situation where it would limit army invasions into the West Bank.
The army told Haaretz that the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank arrested hundreds of Hamas members and fighters, and that most of the activities of Hamas are currently taking place outside of main West Bank cities.
