Editing Palestinian Authority (section)

===Police forces===
{{main|Palestinian Security Services}}
The creation of a Palestinian police force was called for under the Oslo Accords.<ref name=Eurp521/> The first [[Palestinian Security Forces|Palestinian police force]] of 9,000 was deployed in [[Jericho]] in 1994, and later in [[Gaza City|Gaza]].<ref name=Eurp521/> These forces initially struggled to control security in the areas in which it had partial controlled and because of this Israel delayed expansion of the area to be administered by the PA.<ref name=Eurp521/> By 1996, the PA security forces were estimated to include anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000 recruits.<ref name="Ref_d">David Hirst, "The New Oppressor of the Palestinians", Guardian (London), 6 July 1996, reprinted in World Press Review, October 1996, p. 11. Hirst suggests that there are 40,000–50,000 security officers. For Israeli press reports about there being 40,000 officers, see Steve Rodan, "Gov't: PA Has 16,000 More Policemen than Permitted by Oslo," Jerusalem Post (international edition), 2 May 1998, p. 3. According to [[The Jerusalem Post]], Israeli defense sources said in September 1996 that the number of armed men in the PA had risen to 80,000. See Steve Rodan, "Palestinians Have 80,000 Armed Fighters", ''The Jerusalem Post'', 27 September 1996, p. 5.</ref> PA security forces employ some armored cars, and a limited number carry automatic weapons.<ref name="Ref_e">{{Citation | title=The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip | publisher= JewishVirtualLibrary.org | url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/iaannex1.html|access-date=19 February 2006}}</ref> Some Palestinians opposed to or critical of the peace process perceive the Palestinian security forces to be little more than a proxy of the State of Israel.<ref name=Eurp521/>