Posted on 12/30/2005 10:22:22 AM PST by Esther Ruth
Armed gangs turn "Palestinian Authority" into impotent oxymoron
By Israel Insider staff and partners December 30, 2005
Kidnapping and kicking out foreigners, Palestinian armed gangs in Gaza and the West Bank are making a mockery of claims that leader Mahmoud Abbas is in control, raising fears of total chaos and social breakdown in the run-up to elections later this month. A British aid worker and her parents are still missing and EU monitors fled from their posts at the Rafah border crossing as rifle-toting paramilitary groups seized the station.
Palestinian policemen angry over the killing of a fellow police officer stormed the Gaza-Egypt crossing on Friday, firing in the air and forcing European monitors to shut the border and flee, Palestinian and European officials said.
About 100 policemen entered the Rafah compound and took up positions alongside border patrol officers at the customs section of the crossing, Palestinian security officials and witnesses said.
The European observers _ responsible for monitoring the crossing and ensuring the terms of an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are upheld _ fled the area, fearing the situation was deteriorating, the officials said.
A few hours later, Palestinian Police Chief Alaa Housni said the situation at the crossing had been brought under control, but that the border would not likely be reopened Friday. He said European monitors would return either Friday or Saturday.
A rash of kidnappings and armed takeovers of government institutions has plunged the Gaza Strip into chaos in recent months, underscoring Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' inability to control the area after Israel's withdrawal in September. Abbas left Gaza on Thursday for a tour of the Gulf states.
Pro-Palestinian aid worker gets taste of local hospitality The whereabouts of a British aid worker, Kate Burton, 24 and her parents, kidnapped by armed gunmen near the Gaza-Egypt border, were still unknown Friday, two days after their abduction. Palestinian security forces were going house-to-house in the town of Khan Younis in search of the hostages.
At a news conference in Gaza, Housni threatened to use force to gain their release.
"Those who have them have not yet made any demands and have not yet announced who they are. These are enemies to the Palestinian people. We will get them. If we have to use force we will," Housni said.
In similar incidents in the past, gunmen demanding jobs have released hostages unharmed.
"We have nothing new on the case," said Gaza police chief Alaa Hosni after sundown Thursday. "We are continuing our search efforts, and we will not stop until the British family is safely returned." He said he believes they are still in Rafah.
A team of British diplomats rushed to Gaza and was in close contact with the Palestinians, a diplomat said. They expressed delight at the wonderful treatment the local authorities were providing, but admitted it had not helped to free the captives. "We're quite happy with the way things are going, but the three nationals are not close to being released," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity under department regulations.
The kidnapping was the latest in a string of abductions of foreigners in recent months. The kidnappings have undermined Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' attempts to establish order in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal from the area in September.
"This is part of a new fad of kidnapping for extortion and seeking jobs," Abu Khoussa said.
In most cases, the kidnappers have sought jobs in the Palestinian security forces, the release of imprisoned relatives or other personal matters. In all cases, the victims have been released safely.
Abbas' critics have accused him of giving in to kidnappers' demands, thereby encouraging more abductions.
There was no claim of responsibility for the latest kidnapping.
The Al Mezan human rights group in Gaza confirmed that Burton had worked for the group for four months, handling human rights and fund-raising responsibilities. Mezan officials said she was on vacation with her parents at the time of the abduction.
"She's a good woman," said Jamil Sarhan, Mezan's executive director.
"This defames the Palestinian case and the Palestinian national struggle," Sarhan said. "We have contacted all Palestinian official armed organizations, who all condemned this and are helping us search for her from door to door."
Dozens of Palestinians calling for Burton's release held a demonstration in Gaza City Thursday.
Moheib Shaath, who worked in a Palestinian youth group with Burton, said she speaks Arabic and has lived in the Palestinian territories for three years.
"She is a very close friend and supporter of the Palestinian youth," he said.
A spokesman for the Hamas militant group in Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri, denounced the kidnappings.
Policeman killed in family feud triggers border station invasion The policemen who stormed the border crossing were angry over the killing of an officer Thursday in a family feud in Gaza. They said that because they have received no orders from their officers on how to deal with the situation they are taking matters into their own hands, the witnesses said.
The chief Palestinian security officer at the crossing asked the policemen to leave but they refused.
The border was closed because according to the Israeli-Palestinian agreement the crossing cannot operate if the European contingent is not present, said Julio De La Guardia, spokesman for the European monitors. After the takeover, most travelers left the area, packing suitcases into their cars and turning around.
"Our monitors are now in the Kerem Shalom military base. When the situation is clear, and these people leave, we will go back to our work," De La Guardia said. Kerem Shalom is an Israeli military base on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza.
The policemen shut Rafah's main gate and fired in the air when a VIP car carrying an unidentified Palestinian official tried to enter the compound, Palestinian officials said. The policemen are demanding the execution of the gunman who killed their colleague. They said no Palestinian official will be allowed to leave Gaza until their demands are met.
On Thursday, a Palestinian police officer and a civilian were killed in a shootout that erupted between two rival families. The violence began when a member of one of the families was detained by police. The man's relatives came to a local police station to free him, and clashes broke out. A third civilian was wounded in the gunbattle and sporadic gunfire erupted around the hospital and elsewhere in Gaza City after the killings.
Abbas has been reluctant to confront the militants, fearing it could lead to civil war.
But frustration in the Palestinian public over lawlessness in Gaza and the West Bank could force Abbas to make a move, especially as he heads toward a January parliamentary poll. The Hamas militant group poses a serious electoral challenge to Abbas' ruling Fatah movement and another group, Islamic Jihad, has flouted a ceasefire with Israel, provoking a harsh response.
Local boy makes good after exploding Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility Friday for a suicide bombing in the West Bank that killed an Israeli soldier and two Palestinians. Members of the group announced on loudspeakers in the West Bank village of Atil that Sohieb Ibrahim Yassin, a 19-year-old man from the village, carried out the attack.
Of course, I'm sure in the Arab world the evil Jooz will take all of the blame.
A terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist......period!
I hear all oxymorons are impotent... something about how they're cross-bred.
So much for the absurd Bush-Rice-Sharon fanstasy called the "Road Map". Just pull the damn plug already. Drive the Arabs into the Sinai and Arabia. And watch Gaza, Judea and Samaria bloom under total Israeli control.
A M E N
I Wish!
Great title I thought, they were impotent maroons perhaps...even before the "armed gangs" showed up - but some wonder...I guess.
As a group the Palestinians are a bunch of brainwashed, death worshiping subhumans who are skilled only at murdering Jews and one another, when they can't find any convienient Jews. They deserve no aid, respect, or support whatsoever.
The "Palestinian Authority" has never been anything but a fiction made up so the West would have someone to deal with.
Arafat took advantage of this but he never spoke for anyone except his own gang.
No one speaks for the Arabs who are disorganized groups loyal only to their tribe, their local strongman, and their religion.
Disengagement leads to the splintering and civil war of the PanArab terrorist movement inside Israel.
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