Palestinian police hit for use of force

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By Joshua Mitnick

HEBRON, West Bank | Human rights activists and Palestinian analysts say the deployment of Palestinian policemen in Hebron, intended to bolster prospects for statehood, could backfire by strengthening the militant Islamic group Hamas.

Many Palestinians living in the biblical city say heavy-handed tactics by Palestinian police also could lead to renewed gunbattles between the rival factions.

The police offensive has boosted the number of political prisoners in Palestinian jails to about 200, human rights groups say.

The day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the West Bank town of Jenin in early August and held it up as a model of security progress, dozens of police officers went house to house in Hebron after a traffic accident.

Angry local Palestinians called the road accident an excuse for the police to search a neighborhood where many residents are loyal to Hamas.

"People are coming and telling me that 'we wanted an effective government, but not in this way.' They are coming to me and saying, 'Do something!' Everyone is angry," said Sheik Abdel Khader al-Jaberi, who heads Hebron's most powerful clan.

"I'm afraid there's going to be an intifada [uprising], not against the [Israeli] army, but against these [Palestinian] soldiers."

With its population of militant Jewish settlers protected by the Israeli army, Hebron is known for clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. But tensions between Palestinian factions - Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which dominates the Palestinian Authority - have become paramount in recent months.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has criticized the Palestinian Authority for using "excessive force" in making arrests.

The Palestinian police told the human rights watchdog that its officers were shot at during house-to-house searches.