All those new PA troops deployed in Nablus - at least those who haven't defected yet to Hamas or AQ or the Fatah "offshot" groups that murder Israeli civilians - are getting even more high tech weaponry:

Israel has approved the supply of 25 armoured vehicles to Palestinian security forces in the West Bank ahead of the proposed Middle East peace conference, senior officials said Wednesday. 'As part of a policy of supporting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and strengthening the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) security forces, Israel has allowed them to purchase 25 armoured vehicles for deployment in the West Bank city of Nablus,' a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said without specifying a timeframe for the supplies. The decision comes despite concerns among Israeli security services that Islamist group Hamas may eventually get hold of the military supply, as they did in June by taking control of the Gaza Strip from the rival Fatah movement, controlled by Abbas.

DEBKA reports that it's going to be the APCs are going to be BTR-80s, pictured above. Their specialty? Protecting troops from just about anything but a direct missile hit while they take potshots at helicopters (more info here). A few of these on the ground would totally transform the dynamic of a battle. 25 of them are enough to protect all of the PA's forces in Nablus plus some.

Israeli intelligence is wall to wall that Abbas is going to get rolled as soon as Hamas gets around to it. Hamas leaders are now allowing themselves to openly boast that they're going to overrun the West Bank as soon as Israel makes any concessions (this is not an anti-Annapolis tactic: their approach to that has been the exact opposite). Until then, only the Fatah soldiers who double as terrorists and the ones who openly defect to AQ will get to use these against Israeli troops (h/t: BtB)

References:
* Israel clears 25 armoured vehicles for West Bank city [IANS]
* DEBKAfile Reports: Overriding IDF and Shin Bet objections, Olmert approves arming Palestinian West Bank forces with 50 Russian APCs, 1000 rifles and 2 million bullets [DEBKA]
* Emuna News Special Report: Meet the BTR 80 [Lazer Beams]
* Israeli intelligence: Abbas is too weak [JPost]
* Top Hamas official: We'll seize West Bank if Israel withdraws [Ha'aretz]
* Hamas: When We Said That We're Going To Overrun The West Bank As Soon As Abbas Gets Land And Weapons, We Were Just Joking [MR]

Previously:
* US Unviels $410 Million's Worth Of Assistance That Will Shortly Be Siezed By Hamas
* Smug Condescending Sophisticates Admit They've Been Lying Through Their Teeth About Israeli Security II - State Department Admits That Their Fatah Security Assistance Is An Abject Failure
* Hamas Has 200 Tons Of Explosives That The US Gave To Fatah (Plus: Egypt Says It's Israel's Fault)