Threat of mutiny in Palestinian Authority security forces

Are Arafat's days numbered? The

The Jerusalem Report recently ran this story:

Palestinian Affairs: Death of an Intifada
Isabel Kershner

In the West Bank city of Tul Karm, everyone from Yasser Arafat’s governor to the remnants of the Al-Aqsa Brigades says the Palestinian uprising is as good as over

[...]

Aweideh attributes the difficulty in launching attacks to the recently constructed security barrier that now seals Tul Karm off from Israel, as well as the strict checkpoint regime that controls movement between the city and the rest of the West Bank and "the pressure put on us by the PA." He says that the people he deals with in Ramallah "are scared for Arafat" following Prime Minister Sharon’s veiled threats on the Palestinian leader’s life.

Today from MAARIV International we get this story:

The growing dissatisfaction within the Palestinian population over the rampant corruption and incompetence of the PA has infiltrated its security services, some of which have begun to mutiny.

Three days a police unit of 130 officers and men stormed and took over a base of Force 17, an elite unit designated as Arafat’s bodyguards, which operates under his personal command.

The mutineers’ commander, Ahmed Mobarakh has said that his men will not move, and warned of more acts of mutiny among other Palestinian units if the issues are not addressed and rectified.

Their main grievances are targeted against their top commander, General Abdel Razak el Mujeida. They claim he is corrupt, and complain that while low ranking officers and enlisted men are ordered to oppose IDF incursions, the senior command hightails it out to safe areas, taking their families with them.

They also accuse the top brass of stealing their salaries and supplies, and maintaining a lifestyle while their men are unable to support their families.

Mobarakh warned that unless their demands are met, thousands of Palestinian security personnel will join the mutiny, which could develop into a full scale revolt.

All too familiar, eh?
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