U.S. Deems Improvement In PA Counter-Insurgency

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The State Department has reported an improvement in the
counter-insurgency efforts of the Palestinian Authority.
A State Department report said the PA, under Prime Minister Salam
Fayyad, improved operations against insurgents in the West Bank during 2007.
The report said the PA was bolstered by U.S. security aid to Palestinian
security forces in wake of the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip.
"The Palestinian Authority's counterterrorism efforts improved in 2007,
with a new PA Cabinet under PM Salam Fayyad undertaking serious efforts to
fight incitement and terror in the second half of the year," the report on
global terrorism in 2007 said. "Nevertheless, additional efforts will be
required to dismantle terrorist groups and infrastructure in the West Bank
and Gaza."
The report did not specify PA security improvements. The State
Department cited a PA security program meant to disarm fugitives and
eventually dismantle militias as well as the closure of so-called illegal
non-governmental organizations and charities.