Palestinian Police Balk at Stopping Gaza Terror

(Guardian-UK) Chris McGreal - The Palestinian chief of police has questioned whether his officers are prepared to confront Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Commander Siab al-Ajez said some of his men either sympathized with the Islamist resistance groups or were too afraid to prevent them making attacks. "The will to execute the orders is not what it should be in our officers," he said. "There are officers who are not convinced of what they are doing. They could be present in certain areas and just close their eyes." Ajez is not the only Palestinian official to see the deployment as largely symbolic. Armed groups such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades say they are not disturbed by the prospect of a confrontation with Palestinian police. "There's a big part of al-Aqsa membership already working in the security forces," said Abu Mohammed, a Gaza leader of al-Aqsa.


2005-01-21 00:00:00

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