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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/27108/full/27108/palestinian-authority-or-anarchy-in-gaza/ <br /><br /> <b>Palestinian authority or anarchy in Gaza?</b> <br /> Friday, September 16, 2005 | by <br /><br /><p>The Palestinian response to Israel’s disengagement from Gaza has been gravely disappointing so far.<br /><br /> While no one expected Palestinians to blow kisses to departing settlers and Israel Defense Forces soldiers, the lawlessness coming out of the Palestinian territories over the last few days shocked the world. Or should have.<br /><br /> First, reaction from senior Palestinian leadership, from Mahmoud Abbas on down, has been tepid at best. While giving lip service to Israel’s extraordinary unilateral move, much of their rhetoric chided Israel for not giving the Palestinians everything they want right now.<br /><br /> In another “what have you done for me lately” moment, Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, stated he did not view disengagement as a “breakthrough in the peace process” because Jewish settlements in the West Bank remain intact. <br /><br /> Not a breakthrough?<br /><br /> Moreover, Palestinian Authority leaders have done nothing to reign in the armed terrorist factions on its flanks. In fact, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have seized on disengagement to further rain curses down on Israel along with promises of new attacks inside the Jewish state.<br /><br /> Considering the contemptible sources, such vitriol comes as no surprise. Even the torching of abandoned Gaza synagogues, horrifying and repugnant as that is, should not surprise the Jews of the world. <br /><br /> But the cyclone of hatred appears to run so deep the Palestinian people have even hurt themselves in the first days of self-rule.<br /><br /> Wealthy Jewish donors, eager to build good will and provide a livelihood to Palestinians, donated $14 million to purchase Israeli-built greenhouses in Gaza and transfer them to the Palestinian Authority. <br /><br /> What did the good people of Gaza do? It was reported this week that up to 30 percent of those greenhouses were looted, destroyed or badly damaged while Palestinian police looked on helplessly.<br /><br /> Also in recent days, Moussa Arafat, a cousin and crony of the late Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat, was rounded up and executed in broad daylight by an armed gang. Once again, Palestinian police did nothing and the criminals remain at large.<br /><br /> And just this week, a large cache of weapons was seized as militants took advantage of slipshod security at the Egypt-Gaza border.<br /><br /> Those appalling accounts point to a society in critical condition. Most people, including most Israelis, would like to see the Palestinians succeed at self-government under the rule of law. <br /><br /> As this litany of shame reveals, they clearly have a long way to go.</p> <p> </p>

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