The government is turning a blind eye to the establishment of two 'Palestinian police' stations on the border of Jerusalem as a 'goodwill gesture' to 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen. Abu Mazen is now in the 8th year of his 4-year term. This is from the first link.
One of the police stations was established recently in the village of a-Ram, which lies northeast of the Jerusalem neighborhood Neveh Ya’acov, just outside the capital’s municipal borders. The second station was established in what is known as the Biddu enclave – a group of eight Palestinian villages located near Ramallah and along Road 443.
The stations were established in territory marked as Area B, which according to the Oslo Accords is land under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control.
In recent years, the IDF has allowed the PA to establish police stations within villages in Area B, in line with government policy, to bolster Abbas’s government and grant it the necessary tools to enforce law and order in the Palestinian territories.
The Jerusalem Post has learned, however, that the two police stations in the Jerusalem-borderline villages were established without Israeli government approval. Nevertheless, the state is not demanding that the PA remove them, since it prefers not to insert its own police and military forces in the villages.
“There is something of a blind eye being turned to the establishment of the stations,” a senior official familiar with the issue told the Post. “Israel does not want to have to send its own forces inside, and the Palestinians are looking to extend their reach and authority. In the meantime, everyone benefits.”
Read the whole thing. In the past, the 'Palestinian police' have been active participants in terror attacks against Israelis and others. In the past, the Israeli government has fought mightily to keep the 'Palestinians' from establishing a foothold in Jerusalem, Israel's undivided capital.
'Palestinian Authority' furious over satire on 'Palestinian' television
This should be fun. 'Palestinian Authority' Television did a satire of the 'Palestinian police' and - get this - the police want to sue them.
Palestine TV’s controversial satire show, Watan ala Watar (Homeland on a String), has angered the Palestinian Authority police force in the West Bank, whose commanders have decided to sue the station for libel.
The police are furious with the satire – especially because of a scene where two traffic policemen stop a drunk driver for inspection. The policemen are portrayed in an obnoxious manner that suggests that they too are under the influence of alcohol.
Adnan Damiri, spokesman for the PA security forces, complained that the episode, which is being aired during the holy month of Ramadan, depicted the policemen as “vulgar and common.”
He said that viewers were left with the impression that the police officers had gotten intoxicated from the smell of alcohol that came out of the mouth of the driver.
“This is degrading for the policemen,” Damiri said. “This is a clear humiliation and we have the right not to remain silent.”
He charged that Watan ala Watar was being broadcast to cause harm to some Palestinians, not as a means of entertainment.
“We support criticism and freedom of expression, but only in a positive way,” Damiri was quoted by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper as saying.
“The program that dealt with the police did not offer objective criticism based on a clear idea. It was merely intended to degrade, and this is something we can’t accept.”
And they're not the only 'Palestinian' group that's upset about the show. Read the whole thing.
LATMA could have some real fun with this. Let's hope Palestinian Media Watch or MEMRI translates it. I'll keep an eye out.
IDF investigation: 'PA police' including 'former' terrorist shot 44 bullets at unarmed Israelis
An IDF investigation has concluded that 'Palestinian police' shot 44 bullets at mostly unarmed Israeli civilians in the April 24 incident in which Ben Yosef Livnat was murdered. The investigation has also concluded that at least one of the 'Palestinian police' was a terrorist who had been released from an Israeli jail.
A probe by the Judea and Samaria division of the IDF stated the attack at Joseph's Tomb was unwarranted, and the report did not rule out the possibility that it may have been a terrorist attack, Voice of Israel government radio reported. The soldiers shot with the intention to kill, according to the IDF.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and police are conducting a further investigation to determine whether the shooting and murder were pre-meditated.
Israel National News reported last week that an internal Palestinian Authority probe contradicted initial claims that the PA soldiers shot at the worshippers because they allegedly broke through a PA checkpoint on their way home from the holy site.
The IDF report confirmed that the PA troops shot 44 bullets without any provocation and that there was no danger to their lives. Most, if not all, of the Jews were unarmed, contrary to claims disseminated by Palestinian Authority media.
At least two of the PA soldiers, commonly called “police” by mainstream media, were trained by American officers at an American-funded training base in Jordan.
The IDF report concluded the attack is a ”warning” of what may await Jews this summer and also serves as a caution sign concerning further cooperation with the PA security forces.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air…I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
...
Meanwhile the brother of the 17 year-old injured in the incident told Ynet that his brother and his friends went into Nablus without first coordinating the visit and knew that what they were doing was dangerous.
"When the entries are coordinated nothing happens, this time they entered without coordinating, it was criminal on their part," he explained. "To them this is all about the action and these are the consequences when you run wild."
Chairman of the 'Yesod Olam' association Haim Reicher who is responsible for arranging entries to holy gravesites in the West Bank also visited the injured in hospital. Reicher said that Sunday's foray into Joseph's Tomb was done without his coordination.
Reicher added that usually the visits are coordinated with Palestinian elements and then entry to the tomb is done without any difficulty, as with other holy sites in the West Bank.
"The problems start" Reicher notes, "once every month or two months we enter after first coordinating the visit with the IDF, they give us 10 buses, each one has up to 50 passengers but there are over 500,000 that want to pray at the tomb and the numbers approved by the IDF are insufficient. I can safely say that people go there to pray every night."
That certainly seems to back up the IDF claim that the visit was not coordinated.
But the 'Palestinian police' ought to be capable of doing something besides shooting to kill. The investigation is still pending, but there is no indication that these people were a threat to the 'Palestinian police' or that they were attempting to do anything other than pray at the grave. There is no indication that they were armed. Surely, there must be another method of police action aside from shooting to kill.
And the idea that they were shooting to kill and screaming Allahu Akhbar while doing so has to make every Israeli fear an encounter with the 'Palestinian police.' As if we didn't already.
UPDATE 4:42 PM
Haaretz claims to have results of the investigation. They claim that the Hasidim tried to run a roadblock.
A senior Israel Defense Forces termed the incident "a serious mishap caused by both sides." The army is refraining from referring to the shooting as a terror attack, but has called it an unjustified attack against civilians.
The Palestinian Authority opened its own investigation into the matter, and reported that that the officer on duty began shooting in the air in response to the Israelis' "suspicious movement".
Defense Minister Ehud Barak condemned the incident as "murder" and ordered the IDF to carry out an investigation of its own. He also demanded the Palestinians probe the incident quickly and take every step necessary to perpetrate those responsible.
"No problem of coordination can justify an incident like this and the shooting of innocent people," he said.
The officers on duty during the shooting were detained for questioning by the Palestinian Authority, but it is not yet clear whether they will be taken in for investigation by Israeli forces as well.
Livnat and the other three casualties were part of a group of some 15 worshipers who entered the site in three separate cars without military authorization. A Palestinian Authority representative said that the officer fired into the air because he believed that the group was acting suspiciously, but did not aim at the car.
Then how did they 'happen' to shoot the people in the car?
And even if they ran a roadblock and you were suspicious that they had committed a crime, you could shoot the tires out of the car, and demand they come out with their hands behind their heads. There's no need to shoot to kill.
UPDATE 4:47 PM
The police have arrested three of the victims (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).
UPDATE 4:53 PM
Joshuapundit reports that Joseph's tomb was desecrated again before Sunday morning's visit.
Here's a briefing by Brigadier General Nitzan Alon regarding Sunday morning's murder at Joseph's tomb.
Let's go to the videotape.
I've had emails claiming that the visit on Sunday morning was coordinated with the IDF. As you can see, the IDF denies that (you can also see that on their blog here).
My understanding is that the IDF will have no further comments about the incident until after their investigation is complete, which will not happen before the holiday starts at sundown.
Breaking: 'Palestinian police' attack Jewish worshippers at Joseph's tomb
'Palestinian' terrorists policemen (from the so-called Dayton forces) have attacked Jewish worshipers at Joseph's tomb in Shchem (Nablus). One Jew has been killed and five have been wounded. The 'Palestinians' are claiming it was an 'accident' resulting from a visit to the tomb that was not coordinated with the authorities, and - according to Israel Radio - that the Jews (who were in their cars) threw stones at a 'Palestinian' checkpoint.
According to initial investigations, the Israelis were traveling in the area without coordinating their visit to Joseph's Tomb and were reportedly shot at by Palestinian police.
Three vehicles with 15 Breslev hasidim entered the city in the early morning hours for prayer services. On the way back, around 6 a.m. they encountered a surprise checkpoint and were met with a hail of gunfire from a Palestinian jeep. The fire continued even after the vehicle turned back in an attempt to escape. Two of the three vehicles were hit.
The worshipers were able to evacuate themselves to the IDF Samaria district brigade base which was near by and received initial emergency medical care.
The death of a 30-year-old male was pronounced at the scene. A 20-year-old man was injured in serious condition, suffering of an abdominal wound. He was airlifted to Bellinson Hospital in Petah Tikva where he underwent surgery. A 17-year-old youth was evacuated by a Magen David Adom Yarkon crew in moderate condition, suffering a wound to his shoulder. Another youth was injured and evacuated for medical treatment after he was questioned by authorities. Another two were in light condition and were treated on scene.
In February, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) called on Defense Minister Ehud Barak to increase access to Joseph’s Tomb, located on the southern edge of Nablus, which has a waiting list of thousands of Jews wanting to make the pilgrimage.
At present, access to the tomb is limited to one nightly trip a month.
Israel Radio reports one person seriously wounded, two moderately wounded and two lightly wounded.
The Muqata has the story slightly differently and reports that the person who was killed - whose name has not yet been released - is a nephew of cabinet minister Limor Livnat (Likud):
Originally 3 carloads of Jews arrived at the tomb to pray, but PA policemen waiting there shot in the air and 2 of the cars immediately left. The third carload of Breslevers stayed to pray.
After the prayers, when the Hassidim were driving out, the Palestinian policemen (trained and funded by the US) drove their PA police jeep up to the car with the Hassidim in it and opened fire.
One Israeli, Ben-Yosef Livnat (age 30) was killed and 3 more injured. Livnat is the nephew of Minister Limor Livnat.
Nablus/Shechem Governor Jibril al-Bakri admits his policemen did the attack, calling it a "security incident" not a "terrorist attack". He also confirms the witness report that they first shot in the air when they saw the Breslev Hassidim who arrive there every week.
Here's what the Oslo accords say about Joseph's tomb, which is supposed to be under Israeli control with free access to Jews.
Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Annex I: Protocol Concerning Redeployment and Security Arrangements 2. Area A
a. The Council will, upon completion of the redeployment of Israeli military forces it each district, as set out in Appendix 1 to this Annex, assume the powers and responsibilities for internal security and public order in Area A in that district.
b. Jewish Holy Sites
(1) The following provisions will apply with respect to the security arrangements in Jewish holy sites in Area A which are listed in Appendix 4 to this Annex:
(a) While the protection of these sites, as well as of persons visiting them, will be under the responsibility of the Palestinian Police, a JMU shall function in the vicinity of, and on the access routes to, each such site, as directed by the relevant DCO.
(b) The functions of each such JMU shall be as follows:
(i) to ensure free, unimpeded and secure access to the relevant Jewish holy site; and
(ii) to ensure the peaceful use of such site, to prevent any potential instances of disorder and to respond to any incident.
(c) Given the Jewish religious nature of such sites, Israeli plainclothes guards may be present inside such sites.
(2) The present situation and the existing religious practices shall be preserved. Appendix 4 Jewish Holy Sites
Pursuant to Article V of this Annex the Jewish Holy Sites are as follows:
1. Joseph's Tomb (Nablus)
JMU is "Joint Mobile Units." Here's the provision that deals with them:
5. Joint Mobile Units
a. The mission of the Joint Mobile Units (hereinafter "JMUs") is to provide rapid response in the event of incidents and emergency situations, in order to ensure free, unimpeded and secure movement along their designated routes of activity, or in their areas of activity. b. The composition of the JMUs will be similar to that of the Joint Patrols.
c. In areas under Israeli security responsibility, the Israeli vehicle will be the leading vehicle. In areas under Palestinian security responsibility, the Palestinian vehicle will be the leading vehicle. The Joint Mobile Units will be under the direction of the relevant DCO.
d. The functions of the JMUs are:
(1) to monitor movement along their designated routes of activity from their stationary locations, from where they may patrol on agreed roads as directed by the relevant DCO, in which case their duties will be the same as those of the Joint Patrols;
(2) in the event of an incident involving both Israelis and Palestinians, to reach the site of the incident in order to provide assistance and to investigate; and
(3) any other function determined by the relevant DCO.
As I am writing this, Israel Radio is interviewing one of the Breslev Hasidim who says that the shooting started while they were inside the gravesite. The 'Palestinians' also stoned the cars according to the person being interviewed by Israel Radio. The man who was killed took a bullet in the head that exited through his mouth.
The PA security forces continued to fire at the cars as they fled.
The IDF hurriedly issued a statement that the trip to Kever Yosef was not coordinated with Israeli security forces.
Kever Yosef is a Jewish holy site that was supposed to be under Israeli control and open to worshippers as stated in previous agreements. However, the government has surrendered the area to Palestinian Authority control, and local Arabs have desecrated it several times.
The Breslov group was known to Palestinian Authority authorities as people who frequently prayed at Kever Yosef without any other intentions, according to Gershon Mesika, chairman of the Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council. He called the shooting attack a “massacre at close range.
National Union Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari indirectly blamed the American government for having “trained and armed the enemy army that is called the ‘Palestinian Authority police’ [also known as the Dayton forces after US General Keith Dayton. CiJ] and is directly responsible for the murder at Kever Yosef.”
He called on the Israeli government to restore the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva to Kever Yosef and to confiscate weapons from the Palestinian Authority.
Of course, it will be claimed that the Jews had no right to be there, and therefore it was their fault. But if you read the agreements as I posted them above, you can plainly see that's a lie.
The picture at the top of this post is of Joseph's tomb in October 2000. As you may recall, at the beginning of the Oslo war, a 'Palestinian' mob attacked Joseph's tomb and destroyed it. An IDF soldier, Mahdat Yusuf, bled to death in that attack. The current defenseless defense minister, Ehud Barak, was the Prime Minister (and Defense Minister) then and refused to let the IDF go in to rescue the soldiers who were trapped there. Current IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was the Judea and Samaria commander at the time. The tomb was closed for nearly ten years after that incident, and was officially reopened a few months ago. The Bresolov Hasidim have tried bribing the 'Palestinian Authority in the past for additional access to the tomb. I guess that didn't work out too well.
Could this be the start of the Dayton forces' war on Israel?
An affiliate of Blackwater, a firm that was involved in scandals in Iraq, is coming to Israel - specifically Judea and Samaria - to provide security for US diplomatic personnel.
The contract was won by International Developments Solutions, a joint venture that includes U.S. Training Center, a company until recently owned by Xe Services, which changed its name from Blackwater following a cascade of legal problems over several years.
The consortium will provide protective security in the Israel-occupied West Bank, “services that are based from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
The initial contract, awarded Jan. 3, is for one year, “with the possibility of four, one-year renewable options” with a total value of roughly $84.3 million, Toner said.
International Development Solutions (IDS) is a joint venture between majority partner Kaseman, a McLean, Va., firm whose board is stocked with top former State Department and CIA officials, and U.S. Training Center (USTC), a onetime Blackwater affiliate that former officials say still employs many of its operatives.
A USTC spokesman said the company would have no comment. A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the firm no longer had a relationship with Xe. But both are headquartered in tiny Moyock, N.C., formerly headquarters of Blackwater and Xe Services.
Hmmm. I wonder why they didn't just ask the Dayton forces. Heh.
Elliott Abrams believes that the actions taken by the 'Palestinian Authority' against Mohamed Dahlan might have a positive side. To me, this episode is a reminder of two things:
First, that Fatah remains in disarray. All efforts at serious reform and modernization have failed. Last year, Fatah called off local elections in the PA once again, mostly because it was simply unready. Presidential and parliamentary elections are long overdue. If there is ever to be a stable and democratic Palestinian state, it will need democratic parties that can win elections. Fatah today is not able to do that.
Second, that the gap between Fatah and the Palestinian Authority remains significant—and indeed is growing. Dahlan was a Fatah security guy, who handled the various gangs Arafat had created and played off against each other. He never had a role in the increasingly professional PA security system. That system reports to Prime Minister Fayyad, has been trained mostly by the United States, has brought law and order to the streets of the West Bank, and works closely with the Israelis to stop terror. People like Dahlan and other former Arafat cronies, raised with the corruption and disarray of Arafat’s satrapy, have no role and no future in the PA. That’s why there remains considerable tension between Fayyad and Fatah, and great resentment toward him on the part of the Fatah grandees. Instead of claiming partial credit for his achievements, they try endlessly to grab PA jobs and get back to the good old days when they had a finger in the pie. If the Dahlan story helps show that the old days are over, it will be a positive event.
Well, maybe. Is Abu Mazen Fatah or is he Fayyad? If Abrams is right (and I believe he is), there is currently a huge difference between the two.
At the end of the day, will those American-trained troops be willing to go to battle against old Fatah cronies like Dahlan? Maybe. But based on past experience, it's far more likely that the Dayton forces (as the US-named troops are called) are brothers, sons, cousins and uncles of the Fatah cronies. While they would fit with Israelis and might fight with Hamas, they are unlikely to fight with Fatah cronies.
The United States' 'Palestinian' Frankenstein monster
Some 'Palestinians' are complaining that the US-trained Dayton Forces, who are supposed to maintain law and order within the 'Palestinian Authority,' are quickly becoming a Frankenstein monster.
“I feel real concern that we are reaching the level of a police state,” according to Ramallah-based human rights group director Shawan Jabarin, quoted by the Financial Times.
The United States has taken pride in its training PA ”policemen,” avoiding use of the words "armed forces" in order not to violate Oslo agreements. General Keith Dayton, who recently stepped down as director of the training program in the PA, has said the forces have been instrumental in eliminating Arab terror.
However, most of the terrorists and their supporters who have been arrested belong to Hamas, which threw its bitter rival Fatah out of Gaza in a bloody military war more than three years ago.
The Financial Times noted that PA politician Badr Abu Ayyash was arrested in September by the “Preventive Security Unit,” which allegedly tortured him to the point that he can hardly walk today. Other prisoners were quoted as saying that Hamas members are routinely beaten and tortured.
Human Rights Watch last month stated that “reports of torture by Palestinian security forces keep rolling in.” Randa Siniora, the director of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, told the Times, “We are looking at a very gloomy situation. I am afraid that this will become systematic.”
The anti-Hamas actions may prevent inroads by fundamentalist Muslim members of Hamas, but European countries, which generously fund the Palestinian Authority, have openly questioned whether their contribution justifies the PA becoming a police state.
...
Ahmed Salhab, who said he was tortured in a PA prison, told the Times, “I had to eat lying on my back. I had to pray on my back and other inmates had to carry me to the toilet. I never broke the law. In the past, nobody would have believed that the PA would torture its own people. But now everybody knows that they do not respect human rights.”
Hamas charged on Monday that continuing arrests of its members in Judea and Samaria “are poisoning the atmosphere. A statement from its Damascus headquarters stated, “More than 50 armed men of the security services of the Palestinian Authority on Sunday night raided the home of MP Fathi al-Qarawi, arrested one of his sons and confiscated computers." It also charged that a preacher was “kidnapped” from her home in Shechem.
I have two problems with this. First, these kinds of tactics can be, and probably are and will be used on opponents of the 'Palestinian Authority' who are not Hamas. (I am amazed every time I hear that Khaled Abu Toameh, the JPost reporter who is a 'Palestinian' but is highly critical of the 'Palestinian Authority,' goes to Ramallah. Then again, he may be too prominent to be touched at this point).
Second, if this is what they do to other 'Palestinians,' imagine what they would do to the Jews if God forbid they got the chance.
Your tax dollars at work funding 'Palestinian' terror and a stagnant economy
This article ought to be read by every member of the incoming Congress. Caroline Glick provides a primer of where American tax dollars are going in the 'Palestinian Authority' and in Hamastan (yes, in Hamastan). It's not pretty.
DESPITE HIS campaign to boycott Israel and punish Palestinians with economic ties to the Jewish state, Fayyad is the US's favorite Palestinian. Since PA President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Fayyad to lead the rump Fatah government in Judea and Samaria after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, US aid to the PA has increased by more than 700 percent. Most of this aid has gone to propping up Fayyad.
The US directly finances his budget. It funds and trains a Palestinian military. And it subsidizes his programs to build governmental institutions that loyally carry out his anti-Israel policies.
Last Wednesday, during a joint press conference with Fayyad, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the US will give the PA an additional $150 million in aid to supplement the $400 million in financial assistance that President Barack Obama pledged in June. This supplement comes in response to Fayyad's claim that he needs $500 million to close his budget shortfall.
According to the Congressional Research Service, the PA is the largest recipient of foreign assistance in the world. According to Bloomberg, it received $1.2 billion in 2009 and will receive $1.8 billion by the end of the year.
The US provided the PA with $500.9 million in 2009 and, before Clinton's announcement, was scheduled to provide it with $550 million in 2011. This assistance does not include US financial support for UNRWA, an agency devoted exclusively to providing welfare benefits to Palestinians while subordinating itself to a Palestinian political agenda. The US is the single largest donor to UNRWA. Last year the $268 million US taxpayers gave the UN agency constituted 27 percent of UNRWA's budget.
...
Take US security assistance to the Palestinians. The US responded to the Hamas takeover in Gaza by massively increasing its military assistance to Fatah. According to the CRS, between 2007 and August 2010, US assistance to the PA security services totaled $400 million. They received $100 million in 2010 and are set to receive $150 million in 2011. This assistance has paid for the training and outfitting of 400 Presidential Guards and 2,700 soldiers in the National Security Forces. The US plans to train five additional 500-man NSF battalions.
The CRS report acknowledged these forces have improved the law and order situation in Judea and Samaria. But it also asserted that "uncertainty remains over the durability of these improvements and their connection with broader Palestinian economic and civil society development and with progress on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as well as over the willingness and ability of the forces to incapacitate militants."
Indeed, there is little reason to believe that these US-trained forces will not join forces with Hamas and turn their guns on Israel in the future. Since 1996, PA security services have taken a leading role in the terror war against Israel.
...
Then there is the US direct assistance to the PA's operating budget. The US has provided $350 million in direct budgetary assistance to the PA in the past two years. There are three problems with this aid.
First, it is far from clear that the PA needs this assistance. According to the International Monetary Fund and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2009 real GDP in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip grew by 6.8 percent, (8.5% in Judea and Samaria). The report also claimed that unemployment declined. So if things are going so well, why is it necessary for foreign donor countries to increase their direct assistance to Fayyad's budget?
Second, given Fayyad's rejection of free trade principles, particularly as they relate to Israel, the PA's largest trading partner, it is hard to see how his economic leadership is credible. As the failed stimulus packages in the US have shown clearly, government bureaucracies do not create jobs. That is the work of the private sector. And yet, Fayyad is barring Palestinians from having trade ties with their most important business partners and commercial market. This is not the behavior of a leader who is interested in facilitating sustainable economic growth.
Finally, the simple truth is that it is impossible to prevent US budgetary assistance to the PA from financing Hamas, in contravention of US law. Each month Fayyad transfers funds to Hamas-controlled Gaza to pay the salaries of PA employees there. Fayyad has argued that this assistance cannot be considered material aid to Hamas, since the employees are employed by the PA. But this is nonsense.
There's much more. Read the whole thing and send it to your Representatives and Senators.
'Palestinians' to make Dayton forces more like Hamas?
The 'Palestinians' are concerned about discipline problems with the Dayton forces, and as a result, they are thinking about bringing in Islamic indoctrinators to whip the troops into shape.
PA sources said security chiefs were discussing with the Interior Ministry the prospect of bringing in Muslim clerics to indoctrinate the 25,000 members of the security forces. They said the chiefs were seeking a means to bolster discipline within the police and security forces.
"We hope to bring Muslim sheiks for education and indoctrination," a source said.
The sources said the proposal would require the approval of Interior Minister Said Bin Ali and Prime Minister Salam Fayad. They said the biggest concern was that Western donors, particularly the European Union and the United States, would object to the Islamization program.
...
The model for the Islamization proposal has been the rival Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. Hamas's military and security forces have undergone extensive Islamic indoctrination to ensure loyalty, discipline and professionalism.
Gee, ya think so? Actually, the Obama administration would probably find it to be quaint and multicultural for the Dayton forces to be more like Hamas, but the new Republican Congress would not be very happy about it.
At the end of the day, it seems that the troops' real problem isn't a lack of Islam but a lack of money.
The sources said the decline in discipline has been exacerbated by poor morale in many units of the security forces. They said PA officers were disappointed by poor salaries and benefits, including the refusal to acquire loans for homes.
"Right now, the only benefit that most of these people get is cheaper rates on cellphones," another source said. "This is not enough for those with families."
Maybe Fannie and Freddie could go global. If so, they'd better do it before January. Heh.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
The government is turning a blind eye to the establishment of two 'Palestinian police' stations on the border of Jerusalem as a 'goodwill gesture' to 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President 
