<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[US Hires Blackwater-affiliated Security Firm To Operate In The West Bank &#8211; International Middle East Media&nbsp;Center]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><span class="article-details"><span class="article-detail">Tuesday January 11, 2011 15:28</span><span class="article-detail"><img class="icon" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" alt="author" /> by Alessandra Bajec &#8211; IMEMC &amp; Agencies</span></span> <a href="http://www.imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Report%20post:%20Story%2060391%20with%20title:%20US%20Hires%20Blackwater-affiliated%20Security%20Firm%20To%20Operate%20In%20The%20West%20Bank&amp;message=Report%20post:%20Story%2060391%20with%20title:%20US%20Hires%20Blackwater-affiliated%20Security%20Firm%20To%20Operate%20In%20The%20West%20Bank%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex.php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D60391%26%0A%0AEnter+your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+allow+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+content"><img class="icon" title="Report post" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.imemc.org/graphics/report.gif" alt="Report post" /></a></p>
<blockquote class="article-intro"><p>The US State Department signed a deal  with a company closely associated with the Blackwater security firm to  provide &#8220;security services in the West Bank&#8221;, The Washington Post said  on Monday.</p></blockquote>
<p class="photo"><a name="attachment36313"></a> <img class="summary-image" title="Click on image to see full-sized version" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.imemc.org/attachments/jan2011/blackwater_pic.jpg" alt="(photo from The Daily Mail)" width="165" height="169" /><br />
(photo from The Daily Mail)</p>
<p class="article">The  new deal worth more than $84 million a year will enable the group to  provide protective security in the West Bank over the next five years,  for services extended by the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, State  Department spokesman Toner explained.</p>
<p>The contract was won by International Developments Solutions (IDS), a  joint venture that includes U.S. Training Center, a company once known  to be linked to Blackwater and that, former officials claim, still  employs many of its agents.</p>
<p>The US previously hired Blackwater for security services in Iraq and  Afghanistan. The firm was associated with a number of atrocities in the  two countries, and later changed its name to Xe Services.</p>
<p>Blackwater had been fined 42 million dollars by the US for exporting  illegal arms to Afghanistan, offering to train forces in southern Sudan  without authority, and providing sharpshooting training to Taiwan police  officers.</p>
<p>In spite of its legal troubles, Blackwater-affiliated firms have  continued to win government contracts. Last June, Xe Services scored a  $100 million contract from the CIA to provide services in Afghanistan.  Later in October, Xe won a share of a $10 billion State Department  contract for worldwide protective services.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60391">US Hires Blackwater-affiliated Security Firm To Operate In The West Bank &#8211; International Middle East Media Center</a>.</p>
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