 Palestinian police went door-to-door early Friday in this West Bank town, arresting 30 suspected criminals in one of the biggest moves toward restoring law and order in the chaos-ridden Palestinian territories.
| Trying to act like a government? The Paleostinians? Will wonders never cease? |
But in a sign of ongoing lawlessness, an unknown group said it had kidnapped three leaders of the Islamic group Hamas in three West Bank towns. In a leaflet, the al-Farouk bin al-Khatab Brigades accused Hamas of putting itself above the law.
| Shucks. Golly. Gosh. I feel so sorry for them. |
Palestinian security forces have been severely weakened by nearly five years of fighting with Israel, corruption and internal rivalries, leaving them virtually powerless to stop militants and armed gangs in the Palestinian areas. But since Israel's withdrawal last month from the Gaza Strip, where lawlessness is most severe, Palestinians have increasingly demanded a restoration of order.
| If the Paleo "security" forces had concentrated on catching crooks and maintaining public order instead of turning themselves into just another terror group, things wouldn't have reached this point. |
Threatened by the instability, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has ordered his forces to rein in criminals and enforce a ban on public displays of weapons, leading to fierce gunbattles with Hamas militants. In the toughest fighting, three Palestinians, including a policeman, were killed in one battle this week.
| Yeah, buddy! I was rooting really hard for both sides! |
More than 200 policemen participated in Friday's arrest raid in Yatta, searching for drug and arms dealers and other wanted criminals, said Ahmed Rabai, the Hebron-area police chief. Village residents said they could not recall such a heavy crackdown by Palestinian police. Police raided the village before dawn, surrounded homes and called on suspects to surrender. Homes were searched and illegal weapons were confiscated. "This campaign was ordered by political leaders to enforce law and order and to bring justice to normal Palestinians and make the Palestinian people feel safe," Rabai said. "This campaign will continue not only in Yatta town, but also in other villages and in the city of Hebron itself." |