The British police officer tasked with training a new police force for the future state of Palestine has told Sky News its greatest test could come in the next two months.
Tough Task For Palestinian ForceColin Smith is leaving his post after two years in the West Bank at a time of deepening divisions between Palestinian factions and Fatah over the issue of upcoming elections.
"January could potentially be a difficult month for them," he told Sky News. "It will be a month where the public order training will be put into practice and that will be a defining moment for them."
The rift between Hamas and Fatah is heading for crunch time in January, when presidential elections are due.
The current president and Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, has indicated he may postpone them.
Hamas say the Palestinian constitution dictates the parliament's speaker is automatically elevated to the post if elections are not held.
That person, a Hamas mp, is currently in an Israeli jail.
The impending political showdown is increasing tensions and raising the threat of public disorder in the West Bank.
Smith, who has worked as a British police officer in and Iraq, said that will bring challenges for the force he has been training.
"The frustrations in the Palestinian community could turn on the police," he told Sky News. "I think they could be interesting months but I think they'll come through it."
In the same week there was glowing praise for Palestinian security efforts from the Israel military.
A high-level Israel military source told Sky News there had been a lot of improvement in the last months.
"They have done great on law and order and on hitting the margins of terror," said the official. "The more they do the less we'll do."
With training from European and American agencies, Palestinians have been taking more control of security and law and order in cities like Jenin and Hebron.
Under the Annapolis peace process, such progress will be rewarded with a reduction in Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank, something the Palestinians say Israel is not doing fast enough.
