Posted on 12/30/2005 7:51:17 AM PST by Nachum
Anarchy in the Palestinian Authority (PA) spread to the Rafiah border crossing, which was closed Friday morning after European Union (EU) observers fled 100 armed PA policemen who formed a blockade.
The gunmen who stormed the compound belong to the unstable ruling Fatah party of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. One of their members was killed in a clash Thursday between terrorists.
After the compound was stormed, the EU's observers stationed at the crossing quickly fled the scene in panic while the gunmen prevented vehicles from reaching the crossing. The observers are responsible for monitoring the crossing and enforcing the agreement between Israel and the PA on live camera transmissions of border activity.
The armed men refused to heed demands by PA officials to leave the compound, and the EU workers left out of fear for their lives. "Our monitors are now in the Kerem Shalom military base [in Israel]. When the situation is clear, and these people leave, we will go back to our work," said EU spokesman Julio De La Guardia. He said the PA police advised the observers to leave the crossing.
As part of the deal brokered recently by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel is barred from stationing live observers at the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Israel has accused the PA of often trying to exploit its control of the border to allow known terrorists to enter into Gaza and smuggle weapons.
During the funeral for the slain policeman, relatives fired at a police station close to the house of Abbas, where the PA chairman's guards returned fire. Abbas was not in the house, but eyewitnesses said some people panicked during the shooting and tried to scale a wall.
The incident was one of several on Thursday which pointed to widespread anarchy.
PA police still are looking for a British human rights activist and her parents who were kidnapped by terrorists in Gaza. Kate Burton, 25, was showing per parents around Rafiah when they were taken hostage by a gang armed with automatic rifles. She has been working as a volunteer for the past year, according to relatives.
Arab human rights groups demanded that the PA stop the kidnappings, which have become rampant. Two teachers were abducted last week by the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine but were released several hours later.
"The lack of action by the Authority against those who stood behind previous kidnappings encouraged others to carry out crimes of that kind," the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights stated.
To the Israeli side, no less! Why didn't they seek refuge with their Pali "friends"?
>>"Our monitors are now in the Kerem Shalom military base [in Israel].<<
I don't see why the Israelis should be responsible for protecting them. The EU is hardly pro-Israel. Let them cower among the Palestinians where they belong.
French?.........
The Debka take on it:
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=1543
"Armed Palestinians commandeer the Rafah crossing Friday
shutting down the Gaza-Egypt border terminal
indefinitely. The European monitors fled to the
Israeli border facility at Kerem Shalom
December 30, 2005, 10:24 AM (GMT+02:00)
DEBKAfile reported Sunday, Dec. 25, on the threat by
Jemal Abu Sema Dana, head of the Palestinian Resistance
Committees chief and Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades, to seize
the Rafah terminal and “cleanse” it of foreign monitors.
This latest incident signals the final breakdown of agreed
measures for securing the Palestinian-Egyptian border
built into the international understandings that
permitted Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza. None of
these measures are now working, regardless of Israeli
government claims to the contrary, especially by defense
minister Shaul Mofaz and security coordinator Amos Gilead.
Palestinians sources are covering up the seizure by
terrorists of the only Palestinian exit point by
depicting it as a police blockade in protest against
the killing of a fellow officer Thursday."
lol, i love it!
What would you have done??
It´s you claming the Palis were Europe´s friends. Europe, and especially Germany and Britain, have been close allies to Israel since its founding.
When danger reared its ugly head / He bravely turned his tail and fled. / Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about / And gallantly he chickened out. / Bravely taking to his feet / He beat a very brave retreat, / He is packing it in and packing it up / And sneaking away and buggering up / And chickening out and pissing off home, / Yes, bravely he is throwing in the sponge...
The EU Observers were obviously not the target of these armed gunmen, else the EU guys woulda been TU..........
This story is funny and ironic on so many levels it makes me giddy.
What I would not have done is undertaken a commitment that I had no intention of fulfilling.
I really do admire you, Michael, because you so often find yourself in a position of having to defend Germany's and the EU's indefensible behavior. I don't envy you.
What would I have done? I wouldn't have been there in the first place.
Predictable aren't they?
The EU observers are there because of the treaty between the Palis and Israel. They shall ensure that the Palis do the controls at the checkpoint properly. The observers can only request a repeat of controls. So why do you criticize the presence of these observers? It´s not their fault that the Palis can´t provide security.
My statement stands. It is irresponsible to undertake a commitment you cannot fulfill. The "observers" should have refused to be window dressing.
Me thinks you haven´t understood what their committment is. Their job is to observe the border controls by the Palestinian authority. If these controls aren´t sufficient, the observers (border patrol members from several EU countries) request the repeat of the insufficient control. They have no duty to ensure the peace between Palestine and Israel or to keep the Rafah checkpoint quiet and safe.
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