RAMALLAH — Friction is on the rise, between security agencies and
Palestinians in the West Bank. So is crime
Palestinian sources said Palestinian businessmen and employees have been
increasingly fighting security agency lawlessness in the West Bank. The
sources said the Palestinians, with help from the ruling Hamas movement,
have sought to end intimidation and extortion by PA security officers.
Fatah controls most of the PA police and security forces, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Without steady salaries from the PA, more and more police and security
officers have sought to extort from businessmen and laborers," a Palestinian
security source said.
On Sept. 3, the PA's Preventive Security Apparatus fought a pitched
battle with residents from a village north of Ramallah. At least one person
was killed in PSA gunfire.
The Palestinian Commission for Human Rights said PSA officers fired at
residents from Mazra'a El-Qibleyya who organized the violent demonstration
at PSA headquarters in Bir Zeit, north of Ramallah. The villagers were
protesting the arrest of two of their neighbors.
The center said two residents of Mazra'a El-Qibleyya were confronted at
a gasoline station by two PSA officers. An argument soon erupted and the
officers detained the villagers at the agency's headquarters in Bir Zeit.
Hours later, Mazra'a El-Qibleyya residents arrived at PSA headquarters
and threw stones and empty bottles. The center said PSA called for
reinforcements who arrived and fired at the protestors. A 20-year-old was
struck in the chest and died.
The Palestinian sources said PA security officers have become a leading
element in the crime rise in the West Bank. They said that neither the PA
police nor courts have stopped the errant officers.
