A working relationship between the CIA and a pair of security agencies ostensibly part of the Palestinian Authority has gotten so close that the wings, the Preventive Security Organization (PSO) and General Intelligence (GI) service have become de facto arms of the American spy agency, according to Western officials.

The PSO in particular has a fearsome reputation as Fatah’s formal torture organization, numerous reports have them kidnapping suspected members of Hamas, torturing confessions out of them.

The two groups are holding hundreds of people in dubious conditions under this program, part of the reason the human rights situation in the West Bank has been deteriorating precipitously over the past several years.

The CIA confirmed “support” for the organizations (which other officials confirmed off-the-record was “supervisory”), and declined to detail what it does with the information it receives from these “interrogations.” They insisted, however, that it does not amount to control over the groups, and that it was perfectly legal.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

• Homegrown US 'Terror Plots' Drop, But Nation Still 'On Edge' - February 9th, 2012
• Amputations Soared Among US Troops in 2011 - February 9th, 2012
• US Still Can't Find Missing Libyan Missiles - February 9th, 2012
• Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: Let Us Form Government - February 9th, 2012
• As Reports of Violence Grow in Syria, So Do Western Calls for Intervention - February 9th, 2012