"Hundreds of Palestinian security officers arrived in Nablus on Friday in a Western-backed crackdown on gunmen in the West Bank intended to impose order ahead of a peace conference with Israel. The police are expected to significantly establish their presence in the town by the afternoon hours.
Israel, which is seeking to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, approved the deployment in the flashpoint city. Israeli government spokesman David Baker said the move would improve security. More Palestinian forces could be deployed elsewhere in the West Bank if the initiative worked well......
The deployment was agreed upon following a meeting Thursday evening between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad.....
Nonetheless, Israel has made it clear that the Israel Defense Forces will continue to operate in the West Bank city when needed and will retain overall security responsibility in the Nablus area, while the police officers will focus on imposing law and order.
According to recent reports, United States Mideast security coordinator Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton has said behind closed doors that the Palestinian security forces operating in the West Bank are not adequately prepared to accept security responsibility over Palestinian cities [they are just helping the Israelis]......"
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