The Palestinian Authority's security organizations are unable to assume security control of cities in the West Bank, Prime Minister Salam Fayad told senior Israeli officials during recent meetings. Fayad told Israeli officials that the PA's security forces are unable "to impose law and order in the West Bank at this time."We've made fun of the pathetic Palestinian Arab police forces mercilessly in the past, but in the context of this story it is important to revisit the issue.
During meetings with senior Israeli officials, the interim Palestinian prime minister and his interior minister, Abd al-Razek al-Yihiya, made it clear that the PA's security cannot at this time assume control of West Bank cities. Among those to whom this message was conveyed recently was Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin.
Originally, Fayad and al-Yihiya made the transfer of some West Bank cities to PA security control one of their prime requests of Israel. Israel did not immediately reject the request, but asked that the PA security forces be prepared to take action against any militants who may try to carry out a terror attack against Israel from areas in which Israel would surrender security control.
However, Palestinian security commanders admitted before the PA leadership that their forces are not currently capable of preventing terrorist attacks against Israel, or, as Israel defines it, of "combatting terrorism."
Fayad told Israel that the PA's security forces are unable to "impose law and order in the West Bank at this time."
The PA is effectively a giant public works project, with the difference being that in real public works projects something gets accomplished. But in the PA, the people who are being paid by international funds are not building anything - they are just slapped with the name "policemen" and then they go back to whatever they were doing before, usually nothing but often moonlighting as terrorists. And more terrorists are joining all the time.
At least Fayyad is being honest, but where is the logical Western reaction? Why isn't the EU and the US going to Abbas and saying - OK, we've given you billions, why can't you have a police force that can do basic tasks, as was required by Oslo for 14 years?
A similar question can be asked as to why exactly the Palestinian Arabs, the group of people who support terrorism more than any other group on the planet, deserve a state to begin with? Unfortunately, when Israel's PM runs interference and supports the idea of a terror state "as quickly as possible" why should the West be more pro-Israel than Israel seems to be?