U.S. weapons transferred
to Palestinian terrorists
Militant leader tells WND rifles given to Abbas
for 'security' used in shooting attacks on Jews
Posted: June 17, 2006
2:30 p.m. Eastern
 

By Aaron Klein

TEL AVIV -- It was the United States that coordinated the transfer of weapons last week by Israel to Force 17, the presidential guard units of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, WorldNetDaily has learned. The transfer consisted of American-made weapons, Palestinian officials said.

Abu Yousuf, a senior member of Force 17, told WND in an exclusive interview last week the weapons will be shared with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and utilized for attacks against Jews. He hinted the weapons already were used in two shooting attacks the past few days that killed one Israeli civilian and wounded another.

Many Force 17 gunmen are well known to also be members of the Al Aqsa Brigades, an offshoot of Abbas' Fatah party that is responsible for scores of recent suicide bombings, shooting attacks and rocket firings at Israel.

The weapons cache included 3,000 American-made M-16 assault rifles and over one million rounds of ammunition, Palestinian officials involved in the transfer told WND. Media reports had stated the transfer, which was credited to Israel, consisted of 370 assault rifles and an unspecified amount of bullets.

It was unclear as of press time if the American weapons originated from U.S. military stockpiles in Iraq, which borders Jordan.

Palestinian officials said Abbas quietly requested the weapons from the U.S. in talks that involved Israel, Jordan and Egypt

FULL STORY at

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50690