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The Palestinian Authority

By Franklin FoerUpdated Thursday, June 14, 2007, at 5:09 PM ET

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The Palestinian Authority's massive security apparatus--more than 80,000 strong--appears to be somewhat out of Arafat's control. PA security has resisted Israeli demands that it take action against Hamas and refused, on occasion, to cooperate with the Israeli Defense Forces. When Israel began constructing apartment buildings in Arab East Jerusalem last March, PA security stopped relaying intelligence about the operations of Hamas' terrorist wing. This breakdown of PA-Israeli cooperation is the basis for the Israeli complaint that Arafat is culpable for last week's Jerusalem bombing. Last week Israel also ordered the PA to arrest one of its high-ranking police officers for planning an attack on a Jewish settlement.

Last year, Arafat cracked down on Hamas after a string of bombings in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, arresting more than 1,200 suspected terrorists, destroying Hamas safe houses, and confiscating its weapons caches. Arafat is reluctant to reprise that police action, observers say, because he believes that the threat of terrorism is the only way to force Netanyahu to restart the peace talks. Meanwhile, Israeli closure of the PA's borders further punishes the Palestinian economy. And Israel has threatened to send troops into PA-controlled cities and crack down on Hamas itself. Arafat's aides say this would be akin to an act of war.