By Adam Entous, Reuters, 3 February 2007
U.S. assistance has largely been limited until now to around 4,000 members of Abbas’s presidential guard.
But documents obtained by Reuters on Saturday showed that the U.S. government’s $86.4 million security assistance program could cover at least 13,500 troops loyal to Abbas.
The National Security Forces (NSF) is the largest security force under Abbas’s control and is viewed by many Palestinians to be the equivalent of an army, though it is poorly trained and equipped compared to the smaller presidential guard.
Under the U.S. security program, $76.4 million will fund “projects to transform and strengthen elements of the Palestinian Authority’s security structure, specifically the National Security Forces and Presidential Guard in an effort to improve public order and fight terror in the
West Bank and Gaza,” the documents said.
Further reading:
U.S. Backing for Fatah Stirs New Conflict
Jon Elmer and Nora Barrows-Friedman, The Electronic Intifada, 2 February 2007
The American proxy war in Gaza
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 3 February 2007