 Facing an upsurge in lawlessness and anarchy, the Palestinian Authority is preparing to deploy a special force in the Gaza Strip to fight local criminal gangs. The new force consists of security agents from different branches of the PA security establishment and is headed by Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Sakka. PA security sources told The Jerusalem Post that the new security apparatus, called the Joint Central Force, would be subordinate to the National Security Council, which is headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. "The force's main task is to enforce law and order and hunt down criminals and murderers," said a senior PA security official in Gaza City. The source denied that the move was directed against Hamas or any of the armed Palestinian groups. "It will fight against murderers and rapists, not Hamas and Islamic Jihad," he emphasized.
| "There's a difference, you know. It's just kinda subtle..." |
Al-Sakka said the new force consists of 1000 security officers who would be deployed in various parts of the Gaza Strip within the next few days. He said its members have received special training in anti-riot tactics and combating crime over the past five months. He pointed out that the decision to establish the security force was taken by the National Security Council last June and had received the blessing of former PA chairman Yasser Arafat.
| "Oh, yasss! Yasser was all for it, bless his dear departed heart!" |
"The members of the new force were carefully selected and are all ambitious young men," he added. "They will all wear natty black uniforms and use white vehicles. They will also receive relatively high salaries because of the risks they face."
| Men in Black, eh? Do they have those flasher thingies, too? |
| Yes, and we taught them to flash themselves, repeatedly -- Mossad Hey! How'd he get into my comments? I'm the Mossad, remember? |
|