Posted on 09/05/2008 8:16:19 AM PDT by forkinsocket
Israel allowed Palestinian security forces in the West Bank to receive a shipment of about 1,000 Kalashnikov rifles and tens of thousands of bullets in a step aimed at bolstering the moderate Palestinian government there, an Israeli defense official said Friday.
Shipments of this type remain sensitive for Israel because weapons provided to Palestinian security forces during peace talks in the 1990s were used against Israelis when those talks broke down in violence in 2000. But balancing those concerns are fears that if moderate forces are too weak they might lose control of the West Bank to Hamas, the hardline Islamic group that seized power in the Gaza Strip last year.
The weapons shipment reached the Palestinians through Jordan about one week ago, the Israeli official said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arranged the transfer when they met August 31, he said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make the shipment public, though it seemed likely Israeli authorities wanted the information in the open.
(Excerpt) Read more at ap.google.com ...
No such thing. Stupid Jews.
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