 JERUSALEM - Israel has held up the transfer of 25 Russian armored vehicles to Palestinian police in the West Bank, because the Palestinians want to have them mounted with machine guns, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved the shipment two weeks ago over the objections of his own security forces, in an effort to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of last weekÂ’s U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference.
| Oh good lord, Olmert really has a death wish, and he's going to take his country with him ... |
But the Israeli security officials said Monday that the shipment has been delayed because the Palestinians want to equip the vehicles with guns. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki confirmed that Israel was holding up the deal. 'Israel says it will not allow these carriers to come in because they have been designed to be used with machine guns on top,Â’ Malki said. Now we are trying to fix this issue with Israel.Â’
| I'm waiting for what I'm sure will be a very creative explanation ... |
Israeli Cabinet Minister Zeev Boim said Israel did not yet trust the strength of Palestinian forces, fearing that their equipment and weapons could fall into the hands of Islamic Hamas militants. We do need to strengthen AbbasÂ’ security forces,Â’ Boim said. But itÂ’s way too early for them to have APCs with mounts for heavy weapons.Â’
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