Last week: Abbas reaffirmed his long-standing and explicit position that any peace deal must include the so-called Palestinian Right Of Return, an advocacy he's been known to put a point on with reference to US security assistance. This week: another massive delivery of US security assistance:

About 500 members of a security force loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas crossed into Jordan on Thursday for U.S. funded training, the second such battalion to do so. Washington wants to train the backbone of a Palestinian gendarmerie that would underpin any future state. The battalion from Abbas's National Security Force will undergo training for four months in police tactics, riot control and human rights, officials said. An official at the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge, between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, said the battalion crossed without incident. It is the second battalion from the NSF to undergo U.S.-funded training, part of the Bush administration's push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal this year. The other battalion returned to the West Bank in late May.

The perfection of State's timing really can't be overstated. In addition to Abbas's de facto intransigence, Abbas's term ends in January. Without new elections - which Hamas would win - the PA's leadership will default to the leadership of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Guess which side they're from. And if you think that these weapons will at least give Fatah an edge when Hamas gets around to rolling them - don't. While Fatah soldiers will be getting weapons from the US over the next few weeks, Hamas soldiers will smuggling theirs back into Gaza with Egypt's silent blessing. Again.

Of course, there's always the chance that Hamas and Fatah could peacefully close ranks and turn their weapons on Israel together. Always a pretty good chance in fact:

Fatah will fight alongside Hamas if and when the IDF launches a military operation in the Gaza Strip, a senior Fatah official in Gaza City said Thursday. "Fatah won't remain idle in the face of an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip," the official said. "We will definitely fight together with Hamas against the Israeli army. It's our duty to defend our people against the occupiers." The Fatah official said his faction would place political differences aside and form a joint front against Israel if the IDF enters the Gaza Strip. "The homeland is more important than all our differences," he said.

And I would've thought that State Department training would teach him not to say those things out loud.

References:
* Abbas to Haaretz: Peace deal would have to include right of return [Ha'aretz]
* Abbas: Of Course Palestinians Reserve The Right To Invade and Overrun Israel [MR]
* Abbas: Good Chance We'll Use Our US Security Assistance To Go Back To Killing Israelis [MR]
* Second Palestinian battalion begins U.S.-funded training [Reuters]
* New Poll: "Overwhelming Majority" Of Palestinians Support Murderous Rampages Against Israeli Schoolchildren, Rocket Attacks Against Civilians (Plus: It's Israel's Fault) [MR]
* End of Abbas's term may spell violence [JPost]
* Déjà Vu: Egypt to allow Gazans to go to Mecca [Elder]
* Egypt Opens Border Crossing, Allows Hamas To Smuggle In Money [MR]
* Exclusive: 'Fatah, Hamas may join ranks' [JPost]

Previously:
* US To Bring Abject Failure Of Security Assistance To West Bank, Renew Pressure On Israel. What Could Go Wrong?
* Israeli Defense Official: Hamas Takeover Of West Bank Proceeding About How You'd Expect (Plus: Israel In Second Month Of Massive Humanitarian Concessions)
* Palestinians To Get 25 Cutting Edge, Helicopter-Busting APCs