Palestinian security forces on Friday entered several Israeli-occupied neighborhoods and towns in the Jerusalem area for the first time since the Palestinian Authority was established, a PA security official said.There is no doubt that some Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem are very dangerous for Jews to enter. There have even been cases of stone throwing at Israeli ambulances. But that is not reason to abdicate security responsibility - it is a reason to increase it, especially during negotiations on Jerusalem's future.
PA security spokesman Adnan Dmeiri told Ma'an that Palestinian police entered the occupied areas of al-Ram, Beit Hanina, Shufat, Anata, and al-Sawahira Friday and began a crackdown on criminal activity.
Twenty-five suspects have been detained so far, Dmeiri said.
Dmeiri told Ma'an that PA police forces intervened given Israel's neglect of its security responsibilities in the areas.
Israel "doesn't pay attention" to the security situation in these neighborhoods, Dmeiri said. They have become a refuge for fugitives and drug dealers.
"As a result, crime spread, endangering civil peace."
Given the rising frequency of armed robbery and property assaults, the PA asked its allies to mediate and convince Israel to allow Palestinian security forces to operate in these Jerusalem areas, Dmeiri said.
Dmeiri said offenses in some neighborhoods around Jerusalem have nearly reached the level of "organized crime," but that Israeli security has failed to address the problems.
"When we entered al-Ram, there were no Israeli (security) forces in the town."
Assuming this report is true (I couldn't find anything in Hebrew media about it), this is a most troubling sign.
UPDATE: Micky Rosenfeld, spokesman for the Israel Police, tells me that the report is inaccurate and that the PA security forces do not work in Jerusalem municipal boundaries, although they are allowed to work on limited items in Area C such as stolen vehicles and other thefts. But...
UPDATE 2: Times of Israel seems to partially support the Ma'an story:
Palestinian Authority security forces, with Israeli approval, have recently conducted broad operations in the streets of Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods.(h/t Ian)
Sources in both the Israeli and Palestinian security establishments confirmed to The Times of Israel that on Thursday of last week, PA security forces launched a major operation in a-Ram, a northern Jerusalem neighborhood that lies outside the municipal boundaries but borders Neve Yaakov, a Jewish neighborhood close to the IDF’s Central Command headquarters.
Palestinian security activity in Jerusalem area villages is not unusual. In recent months, PA security forces have conducted operations and actions in other villages, such as Anata (northwest Jerusalem), Dahit al-Barid (next to Ramallah), Izria and Abu Dis (East Jerusalem) and in Kfar Ekev and Samir Amis, villages in the northern Jerusalem area that are considered to be part of the municipal area of Jerusalem.
Nearly all the operations that are conducted in the area around Jerusalem are carried out in conjunction with Israel. All of these neighborhoods and villages are located on the Israeli side of the security barrier and many of their residents carry Israeli residency cards. However, the PA forces are not permitted to operate in the Old City, Beit Hanina or the Shuafat refugee camp.