PA SECURITY FORCES ALLOWED TO OPERATE IN SOME "B

S E C R E T JERUSALEM 001689 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/15/2017 TAGS: PGOV KWBG PINS IS SUBJECT: PA SECURITY FORCES ALLOWED TO OPERATE IN SOME "B ZONES" WITH ADVANCE IDF COORDINATION Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Following Palestinian and Israeli press reports that the IDF has permitted Palestinian Authority security forces (PASF) to operate in Area B, National Security Forces (NSF) commander BG Diab Mustafa Ali (Abu al-Fatah) confirmed to PolOff August 14 that the IDF has allowed uniformed Palestinian police and NSF personnel to enter several (but not all) B Zones with advance IDF coordination/clearance. (Note: Under the Interim Agreement (1995),the PA has security responsibility for Palestinians in Area B, under the overriding security authority of the IDF. The Interim Agreement gives the PA full security authority in Area A, but Israeli security forces have operated in Area A without coordination since the outbreak of the Second Intifadah in September 2000. End note). BG Ali said the IDF has allowed police and NSF in B Zones that are contiguous with A Zones and distant from settlements. He also said the IDF permitted several NSF troop convoys to deploy from Ramallah to Tulkarm, Jenin and Jericho, and out from Nablus in the past three weeks. ¶2. (C) BG Ali said the coordination/clearance process still needs to be expedited. In some cases, he said, the IDF has delayed movement for up to 12 hours before granting approval. He said each time NSF or police are moved out of Area A, the IDF asks for the exact number of personnel, vehicles, weapons and ammunition to be moved. Routine Approval for Anti-Terror Raids -------------- ¶3. (S) According to BG Ali, the IDF routinely approves Preventive Security (PSO) and General Intelligence (GI) arrest operations and "special missions" in B Zones, because, he said, the Israelis believe PASF are better situated to identify and arrest Palestinians in certain situations. WALLES