Updated 15 August 2002
In 1996 the CIA's station officer in Tel Aviv began playing host at weekly meetings of Israeli and Palestinian officials. Between then and November 1998 the CIA set up a satellite office in the Gaza Strip, along with 'operations rooms' in Jericho, Hebron, Ramallah and Nablus, and CIA chief George Tenet visited Israel and the Palestinian territories four times. The agency's role was expanded and formalized by the Wye memorandum in October 1998 (without mentioning the organization by name).
During 1999 and 2000 meetings were increased to twice-weekly. The CIA monitored Israeli and Palestinian security and counter-terrorism measures, trained Palestinian Authority forces, and oversaw interrogations. The agency also financed the building of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service (PSS) headquarters in Jericho and Ramallah.
'Coming In From The Cold', Time Magazine, 2 Nov. 1998; Dean Klovens, 'The CIA's Role in the Peace Process', Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, vol. 3, no. 1, Jan. 2001
Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, is a CIA protégé and is seen as a potential successor to Arafat. ('U.S. Brokers a Surrender at West Bank Site', latimes.com, April 3, 2002. See also Jim Hoagland, 'Friends of the CIA', Washington Post, April 7, 2002, p.B07.)
CIA director 'George Tenet recall[ed] all CIA staff from the West Bank and Gaza and evacuate[d] them from Israel precisely one week before September 11' (according to Vendel Jones, 'The Days To Come — Have Just Arrived!'; if this link doesn'et work try 'WAS 9-11 ALLOWED TO HAPPEN?'.
In its offensive of spring 2002, Israel destroyed the infrastructure of the Palestinian administration on the West Bank, including the Ramallah headquarters of the PSS. On 7 May 2002 President Bush announced he was sending Tenet back to the region, to help organize a new unified Palestinian security force. (There are at present a number of different 'security forces'.) ('Sharon, Bush Skirt Mideast Issues ...', Washington Post, 8 May 2002, p.A01) On 5 June Tenet, meeting Arafat in Ramallah, effectively passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership (BBC Newsnight, 5 June 2002). He thus set the lead for Bush to announce a policy of 'no dealings' with Arafat as official US administration policy.
Palestinian representatives have since met Tenet in the US.