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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Hundreds of Palestinian security forces deploy in Hebron | |
| 2008-10-26 | |
| HEBRON, West Bank - More than 500 Palestinian security reinforcements deployed in the southern West Bank town of Hebron on Saturday as part of a widening crackdown in the occupied territory, officials said. Around 500 Palestinian security forces took up positions before dawn in the flashpoint town without incident, Hebron police chief Samih al-Saifi told AFP without specifying the exact number. An Israeli security official confirmed the deployment and said it had taken place with the coordination of the Israeli army. Five hundred and fifty extra armed police were deployed in Hebron in coordination with the Israeli army to strengthen the Palestinian Authority in its fight against Hamas," the official said on condition of anonymity. Israel has long feared a repeat in the West Bank of the Islamist movement's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, when it routed forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in a week of bloody battles. The latest deployment is part of a widening crackdown that has seen hundreds of Palestinian security forces deploy in the northern West Bank towns of Jenin and Nablus, both of which were once militant strongholds.
The Palestinians have not said that the security plan is directed at Hamas, and Saifi would only say that the troops in Hebron were there to "provide order and security in the town." In recent months, however, Palestinian forces have arrested dozens of members of the Islamist group, shuttered several of its charities and organisations, and confiscated weapons and explosives. With more than 160,000 Palestinian residents, Hebron is the largest town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has long been a flashpoint in the Middle East conflict because of a settlement of around 800 hardline Jews in the heart of the town. The settlement is guarded by hundreds of Israeli soldiers who will remain in Hebron despite the deployment of the additional Palestinian forces. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |