145 U.S. pickups struck in a Jericho parking lot: No money for gas
RAMALLAH — The Palestinian Authority's fleet of U.S.-supplied, gas-guzzling
security vehicles has become idle.
The PA security forces have received 145 Ford pickup trucks from the
United States. But the trucks have been languishing in a parking lot in the
West Bank town of Jericho.
"We don't have the money to pay for gasoline," a PA security source
said.
The source said the vehicles, acquired through U.S. security coordinator
Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, contained eight cylinder engines, Middle East Newsline reported. The PA has
determined that the engines consume an inordinate amount of fuel.
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"It costs 40 shekels [$12] to drive six kilometers," the source said.
"We don't have that kind of money."
The source said the PA has raised the issue with Dayton. The general,
who helped supply most of the new equipment for PA security forces, was said
to have pledged to examine alternatives.
On Sept. 10, another U.S. security coordinator, Gen. James Jones, began
talks in Israel on security requirements to facilitate the establishment of
a Palestinian state.
Jones was scheduled to meet Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak as well as PA officials to determine whether the Bush
administration could accelerate plans to establish a Palestinian state in
the West Bank by January 2009.
Officials said this would probably be Jones's last visit as security
coordinator. The general, appointed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
was said to have expressed frustration over lack of progress in meeting the
U.S. deadline.
