Friday March 4, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

There was a shootout in Nablus between Palestinian gunmen and Palestinian police today. 6 were wounded.

At the beginning of the week new PA interior minister and security chief, Nassir Yousef, was in nearby Jenin on an official visit. While he was there Palestinian gunmen, under the leadership of Zakariyeh Zabeyda, shot up the street outside the municipal building. Yousef ordered the arrest of Zabeyda. There was a tense scuffle. It ended with no arrests and a sit down between the men.

Zabeyda was upset that Yousef came to "his" town without "his" permission. "Every city has a gate that one must go through" he said.

Think of it as the Wild West, Middle East style.
The situation with Zabeyda is just one example. Every town and every city in the PA has several armed gangs roaming the streets and terrorizing the people.

Commentators refer to this as "Abbas's tightrope".
I say, NO!
Abbas, through Interior Minister Yousef, must disarm these people.

It is not a difficult choice to make.
Control the gangs, you govern, you win.
Allow the gangs to rule, you will not be able to lead, you lose.
The end.