Make Mine with extra butter.The number of Palestinians slain in vigilante killings and other internal violence has nearly quadrupled in four years, from 43 in 2002 to 151 so far in 2005, according to statistics presented Thursday, and one top security official said more Palestinians were killed in internal violence this year than by Israeli troops.
Does this mean we have to start sending pizzas to the Paleos?
| Nah, they turn themselves into street pizzas without our help. |
In the most recent incident, a Gaza taxi driver was killed Sunday by gunmen affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatah movement. At the time, a group of drivers was blocking a junction in southern Gaza to protest rising fuel prices. The gunmen demanded the junction be cleared, then opened fire, killing 30-year-old Yasser Barakeh. Abbas promised Barakeh's family he would track down the killers, but no arrests have been made.
Late Thursday, armed men kidnapped a Palestinian professor known as a Hamas political leader from his West Bank home, his wife said. Palestinians said it was part of an internal conflict. The Israeli military said it had no part in the abduction of the professor, Riad al-Raz, 47, head of the engineering department at A-Najah University in Nablus.
| "No, no! Certainly not!" |
Abbas, meanwhile, has shied away from confronting the armed groups for fear of civil war. However, his attempt to get armed men off the streets with promises of jobs and political participation has had only limited success. Abbas' security chief, Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, argues he can't fight crime without a political decision to confront the armed groups. "When Hamas keeps its military wing, then Fatah will say, we have the right to do the same," said Yousef's spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, referring to unauthorized armed gangs linked to the ruling party. "That's what makes it so difficult for the interior minister to fight chaos and implement the law."
| Not having a spine also makes it difficult. |
Someone you can trust; they're "independent."
The growing chaos is quickly turning into Abbas' biggest political headache - even more than the threat from Hamas which is poised to do well in January parliament elections. This week, angry legislators gave Abbas two weeks to present a new Cabinet and focus on battling crime, even ahead of negotiations with Israel. "
And Maxwell Smart just died.
... said Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri. "If the Palestinian Authority doesn't take hard steps to protect us from chaos, it will collapse."
Majed Arouri, a researcher for the group, said 151 Palestinians have been slain in internal violence or as a result of reckless behavior by militants in 2005 so far. For example, the Palestinian-on-Palestinian death toll rose sharply in September when 22 Palestinians were killed when rockets exploded inadvertently at a Hamas military parade. By comparison, 140 Palestinians were killed by Israel Defense Forces troops during the same period, Arouri said.
According to an Associated Press count, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire stands at 127 in 2005 so far, while the Palestinian Health Ministry said the total number was closer to 200. AP does not keep a count of Palestinians killed in internal violence. "We're Journalism majors; we can't count that high."
| "But you should believe us anyway." |
I like that trend. Better that Paleos die than, well, just about anyone else.