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Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/378697.html
Armed Gangs Terrorize PA
(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - The West Bank is dominated by armed gangs, which no longer fear the PA's security forces. Last month Tanzim activists tried to assassinate Nablus Mayor Ghassan Shaq'a and accidentally - or not - killed his brother. In Qafr Surda near Bir Zeit, thugs cut off the ears of an administrator in Bir Zeit University, to dissuade him from firing workers. In Jenin and Nablus, militias extort protection fees from merchants and kidnap businesspeople to supplement their income. Security meetings between the IDF and the PA have resumed. Most of the IDF's division commanders meet their Palestinian counterparts regularly to reach local understandings. Senior officers recommend letting PA police carry arms again in their motorized street patrols. The assumption is that one or two revolvers per vehicle would not threaten the IDF but may help the police deter the militias.