Senior defense officials said Monday that new PA police troops would be added in Samaria , specifically in the cities of Tulkarm, Shechem and Kalkilya, according to a report published in The Jerusalem Post. Tulkarm is located immediately east of the Judea-Samaria security barrier and near Netanya; Kalkilya is adjacent to Kfar Saba. Last Friday 700 PA troops moved into Hevron-area barracks in preparation for deployment in the Judean city where Hamas terrorists have begun to increase their grip. Israel maintains sovereignty over the area, but PA special police forces are to maintain law and order among the city's Arab population. Israel has already approved advanced training from U.S. military officers for the special PA forces and has allowed the PA to import weapons and armored vehicles for their use. The forces have been trained, armed and equipped by U.S. military personnel at bases in Jordan and in the Judean city of Jericho since late 2006, supported by a budget of millions of dollars. The first contingent of 500 police officers deployed in Shechem in February 2008, with a second elite unit comprised of 480 members stationed in Jenin in early May. Israeli security officials who monitored the progress of the prior forces in Shechem and Jenin said they are not fighting terrorism and only have managed to contain day-to-day criminal activities. At this point PA troops are fully deployed in Jenin, where IDF officials said they have cracked down on crime, but not on local terrorist groups. The IDF continues to stage nightly counterterrorist operations in the cities to arrest wanted terrorists.
