PA to recruit 5,000 police for pullout
New recruitment drive comes in bid to ensure upcoming withdrawal not interrupted by Palestinian violence
The Palestinian Authority has begun to recruit 5,000 extra police officers in the Gaza Strip to ensure that Israel's planned withdrawal later this year goes smoothly, a Palestinian official said on Saturday.
Israel has urged the Palestinian Authority to ensure there are no attacks on Israeli troops and settlers during the pullout, due to start in mid-August, and said that cooperation then would bode well for future ties.
"We have opened the door to enlist 5,000 policemen and members of national security forces," Interior Ministry spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khousa told Reuters. "These forces will join the Palestinian security services to prepare for the
Israeli withdrawal.”
The new recruits will have 45 days of military training before starting work. They will be unarmed because the Palestinian security forces in Gaza are short of weapons, Abu Khousa said, urging Israel to allow them to be armed.
Palestinian plan 'superficial, shallow and insufficient'
Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, who controls the Palestinian security forces, met Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz recently to discuss coordination of the withdrawal.
During the session, Mofaz responded positively to Yousef's proposal to coordinate disengagement but said the plan the PA minister presented was "superficial, shallow and insufficient."
The defense minister stressed that the Palestinians must present a detailed, serious program in order to have a role in the disengagement. He said they must concentrate PA forces in a way that secures the withdrawal and begin training people to prevent rocket fire into Israel.
