The number of Palestinians slain in vigilante killings and other internal violence has nearly quadrupled in four years, from 43 in 2002 to 151 so far this year, according to statistics presented on Thursday, and one top security official said that more Palestinians were killed in internal violence this year than by Israeli troops.
The descent into lawlessness is hurting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas politically, at a time when he is trying hard to beat back a tough challenge by his Islamic militant rivals. This week, a Palestinian parliament frustrated with armed gangs and corrupt police officers have ordered Abbas to disband his Cabinet and make crime-fighting his number one priority.
deteriorating
"The security situation is deteriorating in a very dangerous way, with no one putting a stop to it," said Hassan Khreisheh, the deputy parliament speaker.
In the most recent incident, a Gaza taxi driver was killed last Sunday by gunmen affiliated with Abbas' ruling Fatah movement. At the time, a group of drivers was blocking a junction in southern Gaza to protest rising fuel prices. The gunmen demanded the junction be cleared, then they opened fire, killing 30-year-old Yasser Barakeh.
Abbas promised Barakeh's family he would track down the killers, but no arrests have been made.
The growing chaos is, in part, an outgrowth of nearly five years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. The conflict strengthened armed gangs and weakened the Palestinian security forces, who were initially targeted by Israeli troops. With the breakdown of law, many Palestinians have returned to tribal justice to settle disputes.
war lords
Some security commanders have become war lords, using the men under their command for personal gain or illegal enterprises, such as weapons deals or extortion. In many cases, policemen are moonlighting as gunmen in militias. The overlap is particularly pronounced in the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which has ties to Fatah.
Abbas, meanwhile, has shied away from confronting the armed groups for fear of civil war. However, his attempt to get armed men off the streets with promises of jobs and political participation has had only limited success.
Abbas' security chief, Interior Minister Nasser Yousef, argues he can't fight crime without a political decision to confront the armed groups.
"When Hamas keeps its military wing, then Fatah will say, we have the right to do the same," said Yousef's spokesman, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, referring to unauthorized armed gangs linked to the ruling party. "That's what makes it so difficult for the interior minister to fight chaos and implement the law."
Abu Khoussa said that this year, more Palestinians have been killed by fellow Palestinians than in fighting with Israel.
He did not provide figures, but his claim was backed up by the Independent Commission for Human Rights, an independent Palestinian group.
Majed Arouri, a researcher for the group, said 151 Palestinians have been slain in internal violence or as a result of reckless behavior by militants so far this year. By comparison, 140 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops during the same period, Arouri said.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS