By Stan Goodenough
Jul 17, 2007
Scoffing could be heard throughout the Palestinian Authority areas Sunday and Monday as dozens of wanted Fatah terrorists relinquished their weapons in return for tens of thousands of dollars, and a clean bill of health from Israel.
The arrangement was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who Saturday night signed an agreement granting amnesty to 180 men on Israel's wanted list.
Opposition Knesset members slammed the plan as a "mixture of criminal spin and plain stupidity."
In accordance with the deal, a terrorist who handed in an M-16 rifle received $15,000, while an AK-47 was "surrendered" for $3750. Smaller guns earned their owners up to $6,000.
The money paid to these killers came from donations made to the PA by the international community.
Apart from the dollars, the men who had been wanted - some for years - for their acts of criminal violence against Israeli Jews were free to come out of hiding and bask in the embrace of their people.
And a week after paying this "price" for their sins, the agreement stipulates that these terrorists will be "integrated" into the Palestinian Authority's "security forces" and issued with weapons to replace the ones they just surrendered for cash.