JERUSALEM, July 30 (UPI) -- Israel's military commanders are considering letting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas form a special counter-terrorism force to crush rival Hamas networks in the West Bank.
The move would tie Abbas' Palestinian Authority even closer to Israel in the security arena at a time when efforts to reconcile the mainstream, secular Fatah movement headed by Abbas that dominates the West Bank, and the fundamentalist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, appear to be foundering.
Indeed, Abbas is fighting for survival and is prepared to change the rules of the game to do so. He has unleashed his forces on the West Bank to root out Hamas cells that remain active there and which are working underground to topple his beleaguered regime based in Ramallah.
Some Palestinians, and other Arabs for that matter, see Israeli support for Abbas' security forces as the thin end of the wedge for the Palestinian cause.
These critics argue that by helping Abbas eliminate his Palestinian rivals, the Israelis will encourage him to set up a heavily truncated Palestinian statelet, minus Hamas-ruled Gaza, that would be no serious security threat to Israel and could be more easily manipulated.
Security cooperation between the PA's overwhelmingly Fatah forces, including large numbers of U.S.-trained personnel, and Israeli military authorities is currently better than it has been in almost a decade because they have a common enemy: Hamas and its allies, such as Islamic Jihad.
Hamas became a serious threat to Abbas' rule and his corruption-riddled administration that remains dominated by Arafat's Fatah Old Guard, and to Israel once the fundamentalists seized control of Gaza in June 2007, effectively splitting the putative Palestinian state into two mutually hostile territories.
The Israelis do not want to see a viable Palestinian state embracing the West Bank and Gaza emerge. That would allow Israel to retain much of the West Bank and the Jewish settlements there.
Both Hamas and the smaller but highly effective Islamic Jihad are heavily influenced by Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which arms and funds them.
Security cooperation was a key element in the landmark 1993 Oslo Accords.
Up to the eruption of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in late September 2000, Yasser Arafat's security services in the West Bank and Gaza operated together. Their leaderships were particularly close for several years.
All that fell apart when the intifada flared and fighting resumed. But under U.S. tutelage, and the approval of the Israelis, Abbas, Israel's last "peace partner," was allowed to restructure his security apparatus to confront radical Palestinians since this benefited Israel.
Abbas has appointed several of his senior commanders to cooperate openly with the Israelis.
Unlike Arafat, who perpetually kept his dozen or so security organizations at each other's throats to prevent them ganging up on him, Abbas has restructured his security apparatus under the guidance of Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, a U.S. army officer who acts as security coordinator.
But by going along with the Americans, Abbas has for all intents and purposes removed his forces from resisting Israeli occupation. This has not gone down well with many Palestinians.
Abbas' new-look security forces have significantly intensified their anti-Hamas crackdown in recent weeks, often with considerable brutality that has fueled popular resentment against the PA.
The crackdown was stepped up in advance of an extraordinary meeting of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, the movement's executive body, which will seek to settle the internal power struggles that are crippling it.
The gathering of 1,500 delegates is scheduled for Aug. 4 in Bethlehem, the first time the body has met on Palestinian soil. The outcome will determine Fatah's direction -- and whether it is a spent political force.
Cracking Hamas heads could bolster Abbas' standing before the crucial meeting.
Four battalions trained by U.S. teams in Jordan have already been deployed across the West Bank with Israeli approval and, in some cases, support for police-style operations and counter-terror sweeps. They are allowed only light arms.
Now the Israelis believe that a special elite unit of handpicked Palestinian security men would be even more effective. The army has refused PA requests to allow the new unit to undergo explosives training or to equip it with sophisticated communications equipment.
But it seems likely that the new special unit will be set up. Many in the West Bank fear this will only intensify Abbas' often brutal crackdown and build up Palestinian resentment against a regime many are now viewing as quisling.
