Just kidding, obviously. When the Palestinians do it in the West Bank, it’s a US-backed security campaign:
A Palestinian teen was seriously wounded in Kabatiya Tuesday when gunmen fired at Palestinian Authority security forces that began deploying in the village located south of Jenin. The PA forces set up roadblocks in their search for the assailants. The PA police commander in the Jenin district told Israel Radio that when the new police forces entered the village they were pelted with stones. On Saturday, 600 PA policemen were deployed in the district in a bid to restore law and order.
Oh did they? And here we thought that security roadblocks were verboten on account of the whole “they make it hard for terrorists to get around and therefore make the Palestinian public grumpy” thing. Apparently establishing security in the West Bank requires a roadblock or two after all. Perhaps the difference is that the Palestinian police officers are considered legitimate by the local population – a distinction that, in addition to being trivial given the level of hysteria surrounding roadblocks, also happens to be untrue:
Palestinian Authority policemen that began deploying in the Jenin area Saturday haven’t all been greeted with roses and champagne. n Tuesday, an unarmed 21-year-old Palestinian man was seriously wounded in Kabatiya when gunmen fired at the PA security forces that were deploying in the village located south of Jenin. Officials say the man is now on life support at a hospital. The PA forces set up roadblocks in their search for the assailants.The PA police commander in the Jenin district, Suleiman Imran, told Israel Radio that when the new police forces entered the village they were also pelted with stones. Medics say police later shot two stone-throwers in the legs.… Tuesday’s shootout was the first violence since Palestinian forces deployed in the area last weekend. The operation is part of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to assert control throughout the West Bank.
Israel is already being set up by the State Department to take the fall for the PA forces’ impending failure. Keith Dayton – the reflexively Israel-blaming State Department general who got moved to the West Bank to set up this force – always seems to need more weapons, aid, and Israeli security concessions to accomplish his mission. The billions and billions spent thus far and the current Israeli withdrawals are never quite enough. But in the meantime he’s willing to deploy inadequately trained and vetted Palestinian troops despite previous agreements – almost as if international diplomacy works by trading Israeli concessions for security assurances and then pocketing the concessions without meeting the obligations.
References:
* Palestinian teen seriously wounded as gunmen fire at PA forces in Kabatiya [JPost]
* Palestinian Recruits Hit Streets Unprepared [WaPo]
* Kabatiya man hurt as PA police attacked [JPost]
* US Security Envoy Blames Israel For Palestinian Rocket Attack On Israel. Or Something. [Video] [MR]
* State Dept Pushing Congress To Move Abject Failure Keith Dayton To West Bank [MR]
Previously:
* Abbas: Good Chance We’ll Use Our US Security Assistance To Go Back To Killing Israelis
* Hamas Has 200 Tons Of Explosives That The US Gave To Fatah (Plus: Egypt Says It’s Israel’s Fault)
* Abject Failure Keith Dayton Moves Goalposts To Justify US Security Assistance, Lets Abbas Try Again
