Word: palestinians
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...Palestinian National Security Force overseen by U.S. Lieut. General Keith Dayton is the key to any peace agreement, according to American diplomats and Israeli defense officials. In its two years of existence, the security force, derisively termed "Dayton's men" by the Palestinians, has managed to soothe Israeli fears that it could be used as a resistance army against Israel and has impressed the Israelis with its willingness to enforce calm on the West Bank. But Dayton and others have warned that the force derives its motivation - and its ability to withstand charges by fellow Palestinians that it is doing...
...crisis for the Palestinian security forces could come a lot sooner than Dayton's two-year deadline if Abbas steps down. Abbas is threatening to walk because he says Israel is not serious about achieving a two-state solution, citing as Exhibit A its refusal to halt all settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But his departure could cause the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. As chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat explained, Abbas "sees no state coming ... so he really doesn't think there is a need to be President or have an Authority. This...
...collapse of the Palestinian Authority could spell the end of Dayton's painstaking efforts to create a security force that can enforce law in the West Bank and stop militants from launching attacks on Israel and its settlers. Many Palestinians view the security force as collaborators carrying out Israel's bidding, and a crisis in morale could result if Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership signal that no Palestinian state is in the offing...
...senior Israeli military officer told TIME, "We're checking the pulse of the situation every day." This officer, who asked to remain anonymous, says that if the Palestinian security force disintegrates, the Israeli army has prepared a series of responses, ranging from arrests, restoring some of the roadblocks and checkpoints (which Israel had removed reluctantly under U.S. pressure) and increasing the tempo of its operations inside the West Bank's towns and villages...
...creation of Dayton's security force has been one of the few success stories in recent U.S. efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trained in Jordan, and equipped by Egypt with U.S. funding - by 2011, the U.S. will have spent $260 million - the battalions were deployed in Jenin, Nablus and Hebron. They cleaned out the armed gangs, caught drug traffickers and mediated between feuding Palestinian clans. With less crime and traffic eased slightly by fewer Israeli roadblocks, economic growth has risen 7% this year in the West Bank...