RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians in the old town of Hebron were recently surprised to see armed and uniformed officers of the Palestinian security forces patrolling the town for the first time since 1997.
The city in the southern West Bank is divided into two parts under the Hebron Protocol signed in 1997 between Israel and the PLO. Area H1 covers 80% of the city and is under Palestinian control. Area H2 includes the old town, the Ibrahimi Mosque and some neighborhoods and is under both Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control.