West Bank Braces For Anarchy As Two PA Officers Killed By Gunmen

Two Palestinian security officers were killed late Wednesday night in a clash with gunmen in Nablus, pushing the West Bank closer to anarchy.

The officers were shot and killed after they tried to intervene in a scuffle between local youths, some of whom were armed, that went out of control.

The shooting took place shortly after a similar incident in nearby Jenin, where three Palestinians were killed in a shooting. There too, PA forces were called on to intervene.

Wednesday’s deadly incidents indicate that unsupervised weapons are mushrooming in the West Bank, as Breitbart Jerusalem previously reported.

Over the last few weeks, the IDF has arrested a growing number of young Palestinians, mainly affiliated with Fatah, on charges of dealing in and illegal possession of firearms.

A Palestinian source told Breitbart Jerusalem that the PA suspects the new arsenals will be used against Israel, in light of huge efforts by Hamas and Hezbollah to recruit Fatah members, including former militants, to launch attacks on Israel.

Among the recently arrested Fatah operatives were the two sons of the Palestinian Police Commissioner, Jihad Almsseimi. They were detained after an M16 assault rifle was discovered in their possession during a random check.

A top Fatah operative in the Nablus area told Breitbart Jerusalem that Wednesday’s incident is further proof that the PA is losing control, as the general population sees it as corrupt and unworthy of obedience.

He said that the simmering resentment is more likely to be turned against the PA than Israel, as more and more corruption scandals are being unveiled.

These statements come in the wake of similar statements made to Breitbart Jerusalem by an Arab intelligence source, who predicted a grassroots protest against President Mahmoud Abbas in light of his corruption.

“Last week, on one day alone, 52 incidents of use of firearms were reported to the authorities in Nablus, which indicates a clear escalation,” the Fatah operative said.

There is no guarantee that this escalation will spare Israelis, but the real motivation behind it isn’t a wish to confront Israel but to protest the corruption of the failed Palestinian Authority. People think that if they provoke the Israeli army into entering Palestinian areas it would precipitate the collapse of the PA, which is ultimately what many people, all furious, want to see. This fury was expressed in last night’s shooting at the officers as well as a string of clashes with security forces. It’s the beginning of a dangerous path.

“It’s sad to say so,” he continued, “but Abu Mazen bears the bulk of the responsibility. If he wants to avoid conflagration he must stand down now, and take his corrupt sons and cronies with him.”