Another 1,000 Palestinian Authority security forces will be heading to Yehuda and Shomron towards month’s end, trained over four months in Jordan by Canadian, Australian and British instructors operating under American supervision.

Another 1,000 trainees will also be traveling to Jordan to begin training.

Israel has promised PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) it would approve 20 police stations in areas “B”, under PA civil and Israeli security control.

Five of the new stations will be in the Ramallah district, four the Jenin district, four the Chevron district, three Tulkarem, two Qalqilye, and one each in Bet Lechem and Shechem.

Israeli officials indicate these stations were approved in the Oslo Accords and some closed during the Second Intifada. The move is seen as a significant step taken by Israel towards strengthening the status of Abu Mazen against Hamas, Israeli officials explain.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)