Late last month, the world of police cooperation got just a little wider as the Palestinian Authority joined Interpol. To an old counterterrorism agent like me, the vote to allow the Palestinians into the organization, which helps connect police agencies worldwide, represents an important shift in the world of law enforcement.
Palestinian-directed terrorist attacks occurred all over the globe on my watch, especially in the 1980s. As a frequent target of those attacks, Israel tried to delay the Interpol vote, arguing that Palestine was not a state and therefore was ineligible for membership. The measure passed, however, with support from two-thirds of the organization's members. And despite the long history of Palestinian terrorism, allowing the Palestinian Authority into Interpol makes perfect sense from a global law enforcement perspective. Cops tend to help other cops, regardless of politics or foreign policy. ...
