PA appoints wanted militant to Interior Ministry post

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The new Palestinian interior minister named a renowned militant as his top aide on Thursday and announced the formation of a new security branch to be comprised of militants as part of an ongoing power struggle between the new Hamas-led Cabinet and moderate Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The minister, Said Siyam, issued a decree appointing Jamal Abu Samhadana, the head of the Popular Resistance Committees, as director general of the police forces in the Interior Ministry. Abu Samhadana is considered a wanted militant, whom Israel tried to target in December 2004.

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According to United States and Israeli intelligence, Samhadana was linked to the October 2003 attack on a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip, in which three members of a security detail were killed.

That's kind of interesting, I've never seen any good explanation of that. It was a matter of considerable speculation here at the time, and most anyone you could name was blamed for it by someone or other.

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Some leaders of the Palestinian government are trying to whip up a spirit of nationalism among the Palestinian people, the spokesman said.

:rofl:

Haaretz

[cali]

1. doesn't sound

like a brilliant pick to me, but it's their government.

[bemildred]

2. I don't know anything much about him.

It is certainly interesting that they are planning to form their own "police" force.

[Coastie for Truth]

3. Speaking of police

An arrestee is being interviewed by a young Assistant Public Defender. The Assistant Public Defender asks the arrestee if he has been beaten up by cops. The arrestee tells the Assistant Public Defender "You must be from suburbia - in the city the only difference between the good guys and the bad guys is that us bad guys got caught -- and the cops never got caught."

[bemildred]

4. Well, it's true they don't get caught much.

But they get caught often enough so you know they do commit egregious crimes, and you know there are a lot more that don't get caught.