 The Palestinian Authority has agreed to absorb some 700 activists of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades into Palestinian security services in an attempt to keep the streets free of armed elements.
| Ummm... Right. Give the gunnies jobs as coppers so you don't have gunnies infesting the streets... Have you considered midnight basketball? |
It would be the biggest move yet to absorb fighters from the Brigades, part of the Fatah movement, but the officials gave no immediate timetable for taking away their personal weapons. Abbas is under pressure from Israel to disarm militants as a condition for resuming peace moves and faces calls from Palestinians to curb growing lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The program of offering government jobs to fighters in exchange for giving up their weapons has been a centerpiece of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to impose law and order in the chaotic West Bank and Gaza Strip.
| Oh. So it's not just cop jobs they're getting. That'll make for an interesting trip to the MVA... |
Israel has said the tactic is ineffective and demanded tougher action against the activists, and even Palestinian officials conceded the weapons collection would not take place anytime soon. Still, reaching a deal in Nablus could be significant. The West Bank city is widely considered to be a center of militancy — a concern that was underscored Wednesday when gunmen in a nearby refugee camp opened fire and set off a bomb as Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei made an emotional appeal for an end to the chaos. No one was injured.
| Yep. That's just the kind of people you want doing customer service at the Social Security Administration... |
The deal was sealed by Qorei during the visit. Brigades activists confirmed they had agreed to the plan and said some of their forces would also take civilian jobs.
| "Mahmoud looks good with his paper turban, don't he?... Y'want cous cous with that?... Why not?" |
The deal will include fighters in Nablus and nearby Palestinian refugee camps. Samir Huleilah, chief of staff for the Palestinian Cabinet, put the number of those involved in the hundreds. "All have signed. This will be the test case. This is the first comprehensive agreement," he said. |