The American newspaper Washington Post reported that the United States is seeking to revive and strengthen Palestinian security forces with the aim of assigning them the role of ensuring security in the Gaza Strip, a task that faces several significant challenges. The newspaper explained that the U.S. is funding a training center for security forces in Jericho affiliated with the Palestinian Authority. This training is considered central to U.S. plans for the post-war phase in Gaza, but Palestinian security forces are reportedly suffering from funding issues and lack acceptance among Palestinians, as well as inadequate equipment and weapons necessary to carry out the tasks planned by Western supporters.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated last November that the West Bank and Gaza must unite under one government, following which U.S. officials visited Ramallah, Tel Aviv, and Arab capitals to realize Biden's vision. According to the Washington Post, the Palestinian security forces operating to control the systems in the West Bank face the same restrictions imposed by Israel on all Palestinians, which leads those forces to be viewed by Palestinians as contractors working with Israel; they are unable to prevent settler violence or Israeli military raids and have become unwelcome in Palestinian cities and towns where armed factions have become the actual authority.
Additionally, members of these forces are facing a salary crisis, receiving less than half of their salaries since October 7 due to Israel's refusal to transfer clearance fees for taxes. The center also lacks training ammunition, leading it to send a selected group for training in Jordan with real weapons.
Western officials, according to the newspaper, see a need to expand the capabilities of Palestinian security to handle the tasks in Gaza, as well as needing Israeli approval, which opposes this plan. The newspaper quoted a Western diplomat stating that the Palestinian Authority is not ready to go to Gaza, which will not happen anytime soon due to the Authority's weak readiness and lack of knowledge about Gaza's affairs.
The Palestinian leadership rejects any role in Gaza that is not directly linked to establishing a Palestinian state.
**Crisis of Trust**
The newspaper noted that after the National Authority was expelled from Gaza in 2007, the West invested in supporting Palestinian security forces to transform them into forces capable of coordinating with Israel. Over the years, these forces have been viewed by Palestinians as tools of the occupation or special forces receiving orders from the leadership in Ramallah. The number of Palestinian security forces stands at 35,000 personnel. The first training center was opened in 1994, along with another branch in Gaza and other centers established with U.S. support.
The U.S. established an office for the U.S. security coordinator in Jerusalem in 2005 and funded training programs for Palestinian security forces at Jordanian military academies before transferring many training programs to the West Bank. The newspaper quoted the spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces, Talal Dweikat, as saying that people do not trust these forces, especially when Israeli forces enter the cities, resulting in an expanded gap with the people.
