On The One Hand

Transcript of briefing by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon:
Mr. Daniel Ayalon Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs 8 Jul 2009
For full IMRA transcript click here

........One more question.

Name inaudible [David Bedein]

Is there any understanding, from Israel's point of view, that Abbas has
taken any measures to disarm or to disband the El Aqsa Martyrs Brigade or
any other terrorist groups under him. Or, the last three nights on
Palestinian television they are celebrating Fatah, past Fatah murders of
Israelis, any commitment in Israel over the frequencies of Palestinian
television..

Mr. Daniel Ayalon

No, we are still expecting to see a real move over there, and as I mentioned, of course we do appreciate General Dayton's work to build capacity over there. But of course much more, a lot more, substantially a lot more can be done by the Palestinians to dismantle the infrastructure -
that is to collect illegal arms, to disband and outlaw all the terror organizations. Nothing has been done in this area, not to mention of course, the incitement, the curriculum and all that. These things are still standing. These are not just demands and expectations that we have. I mean these are commitments that the Palestinians have taken upon themselves.
.......

On the other hand ......

Israel may give PA commandos go ahead
THE JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 10, 2009

The IDF is considering allowing the Palestinians to establish a specially trained counterterror squad - a scaled down version of the IDF's elite reconnaissance units - qualified to carry out pinpoint operations against Hamas terrorist cells in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Such an elite commando force would be able to carry out special operationsagainst Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank more effectively than could existing Palestinian security forces. The French have already offered to train such a team.

The decision to consider the establishment of such a team was made following the Palestinian Authority's operation against a Hamas cell in Kalkilya last month, during which five Hamas terrorists and four members of the US-trained Palestinian security force were killed.

The four Palestinian battalions trained by the United States in Jordan and already deployed in the West Bank were taught how to enforce law and order and conduct regular police-like operations, but were not given military training. Their equipment consists of pistols and Kalashnikov rifles, and the content of their training is approved by Israel.

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