Five US made armored jeeps were imported on Sunday for the PA security forces via the Allenby bridge that connects the PA with Jordan, Ha’aretz reported Tuesday. The purchase was made with the approval of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, to boost the ability of PA security forces to deal with increasing challenges. United States Security Coordinator Lt. Gen. Frederick S. Rudesheim made the deal happen, with the cooperation of Israeli and PA military officials.
Delivered in the middle of the night, the armored jeeps were loaded on transporters under Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli supervision and were transported to PA security bases. They will most likely be used against Fatah forces loyal to Mohammed Dahlan in PA refugee camps. According to Ha’aretz, the PA has been asking for Israel’s approval for the deal for four years now, and it took US intervention to finally get it.
Under PM Netanyahu Israel has not been fond of letting the PA import weapons and other military equipment, which the Russian government has been offering for some time, including light arms, ammunition, two-way radios and flak jackets. The approval for the five armored units attests both to Israel’s approval of the job PA security forces are doing fighting terrorists in refugee camps, and its assessment that these forces need a boost to keep going.