Relevant to the various debates we've been having on whether and how Israel should negotiate with "the Palestinians".
Palestinian forces 'can't cope with extremists'
Telegraph
27/07/2005
Endemic corruption, factionalism and gangsterism inside Palestinian security services make them incapable of dealing with armed extremist groups, says an independent study made public yesterday. The 82-page report drawn up by a Washington-based thinktank called Strategic Assessments Initiative paints a picture of complete disarray among the soldiers and police working for the Palestinian Authority. Only one in four possesses a weapon, there is a critical shortage of ammunition, and senior positions are handed out along clan lines rather than on merit. This is in contrast to groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are well armed and organised.
The report's findings suggest the so-called Road Map to peace remains blocked, since a precondition of the agreement demands the authority neutralises all armed radical groups.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1729052,00.html
Times
August 10, 2005
Red Cross leaves 'lawless' Gaza
The Red Cross has shut down its field activities in the Gaza Strip because of growing lawlessness in Palestinian areas in the build-up to Israel’s pullout next week.
The move came after a surge in kidnappings as powerful clans have seized Western hostages to use as bargaining tools in disputes with Mahmoud Abbas’s increasingly weak Palestinian Authority security forces.
The decision was taken after the Red Cross office in Khan Younis was shot at by members of an unknown militant group. Two UN staff were also briefly kidnapped and. It was the fourth western kidnapping of Westerners in three weeks.
Mr Abbas, the Palestinian President, urged his people to maintain law and order, and promised elections in January. But one aid official said that law and order is breaking down after corrupt security chiefs were replaced by “cleaner” but less influential figures.
Hamas are suspected, but I blame the Jews.
Gunmen shoot children on way to school
Telegraph
11/12/2006
Palestinian factions have moved closer to civil war after masked gunmen shot dead the three young sons of a senior Fatah intelligence officer as they were being driven to school. Coming a day after the Hamas interior minister survived an assassination attempt, the killings are expected to prompt more tit-for-tat violence between the two main Palestinian factions.
...
Across Gaza and the West Bank there was a strong sense of shock at the killings. While local politicians and military commanders often face assassination, the deliberate targeting of children is unprecedented. There can be no doubt the children were the target as the car that was attacked was only ever used to drive them to and from the Greek Orthodox School in Gaza City and was never used to drive their father.
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