Elite Palestinian Authority security forces rounded up suspected Salafist terrorists in Shechem this week but left untouched Mahmoud Abbas’ Al Aqsa terrorist arm, which recently branded their rifles in a march to commemorate the death of Yasser Arafat.

The apparent contradiction highlights the heart of the constant threat that worldwide supplies of heavy-duty weapons for the PA forces will be used against Israel, exactly like the rifles that Israel gave Yasser Arafat in the hey-day of the Oslo Illusions were weapons that killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis when the Oslo Accords exploded.

The Palestinian National Security Forces (NSF) has a new counter-terrorism unit called Special Operations Unit 101 (SOU 101), deployed in Jenin, and its “Brigade 9” in Shechem. The NSF rounded this past Sunday 20 Salafist terrorist members in Jenin, Shechem and Kalkilya.

Palestinian Authority sources insisted that the Salafists were not directly affiliated with Al Qaeda despite a shared ideology. Three days before the roundup, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the IDF killed three Salafist terrorists south of Hevron and whom the Mujahedeen Shura Council said were “the tip of the iceberg.”

“By the will of God Almighty, the global jihadist doctrine has reached the bank of pride, the West Bank, planting its foothold after all attempts to thwart its presence,” the Council said after their members were killed.

It was later revealed that the Palestinian Authority had arrested several other Salafists in an apparent coordinated effort with the IDF.

A Palestinian Authority official told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency that all of the Salafists who were arrested were former members of Hamas.

In October, the PA elite unit operated in Jenin. Its commander Major Sadam Amr, told IHS Jane’s that around 150 soldiers are in the unit and are armed with Zastava M70 assault rifles, fitted with picatinny rails so they can be used with the red dot, laser and night vision sites acquired by the unit.

“Each rifle upgrade cost us $1,000, “Major Amr told Janes, which added, “The unit is also equipped with a tactical communications system made by a UIS company called Tiger. The radios allow members of the unit to stay in contact with each other in their operations room.

“The unit uses Ford F-150 pick-up trucks, several of which have been fitted with protective armor…as well as 7.62 mm machine guns to provide fire support.

That should be a great relief to Israelis, now certain that Mahmoud Abbas deployed his forces to tear down the terrorist infrastructure,

The problem is that in the Palestinian Authority, “terrorists” are Hamas members and Salafists, while Abbas’ Fatah party “military” squad, quaintly named the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, simply is a group of resistance fighters.

With masks over their faces and assault weapons in their peace partner hands, they held a military parade between Ramallah and Jerusalem two weeks ago to mark the ninth anniversary of Arafat’s death.

The Oslo Accords are not relevant any more. The Palestinian Authority has broken word after word and clause after clause, but some of the text bears repeating.

The number of armed forces in the Palestinian Authority is way beyond the limit stated in the Accords, which also declare, “The Palestinian Police will act systematically against all expressions of violence and terror. The Council will issue permits in order to legalize the possession and carrying of arms by civilians. Any illegal arms will be confiscated by the Palestinian Police.”

The agreement also states, “The Palestinian Police will possess the following arms and equipment: up to 4,000 rifles;  up to 4,000 pistols; up to 120 machine guns of 0.3″ or 0.5″ caliber; and up to 15 light, unarmed riot vehicles.

Fatah Central Committee Member Nabil Sha’ath said that despite his belief that the Israeli-Palestinian Authority “peace talks” failed, but the PA will remain in the discussions to force Israel to release terrorist prisoners.

“We have committed to negotiations for a period of nine months, and by then we hope to see all 104 of our prisoners released,” Sha’ath, a close adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, told Maariv.

Israel has released half of the 104 Palestinian terrorist prisoners it said it would free in four stages as part of the negotiations. The Netanyahu government also stated that the reason for spacing out the releases was to make sure the Palestinian Authority would not continue to incite terror and would hold by the agenda in the discussions. The Cabinet approved the second batch of murderers for release last month despite Abbas having explicitly exalted terror several times and despite a series of terrorist attacks that killed four Israelis and wounded others.

At this rate, the talks will end around April, and the Palestinian Authority will have won its objective of getting all of the terrorists out of jail.

A 16 year old Palestinian Authority Arab approached an IDF position in Hebron and attempted to stab one of the soldiers with a screwdriver.

The soldiers subdued the terrorist, without injuries.

Initial investigation appears to indicate that the terrorist wanted to be arrested by the IDF for personal reasons.

He was brought to the Hebron police station for further interrogation.

The IDF shot a Palestinian Authority man in the leg on Sunday morning.

The man was attempting to infiltrate into the village of Meitar, located in the Negev, north-east of Be’er Sheva and near the Yatir forest.

When the man was spotted cutting the fence protecting the town, the troops first fired warning shots in the air, which the man apparently ignored. They then shot him in the leg.

He was taken to Soroka hospital in stable condition.

Last week, a Palestinian Authority terrorist breached an IDF base with his tractor in an attempt to kill IDF soldiers.

On October 10th, Palestinian Authority terrorists killed Sariya Ofer outside his home in the Jordan Valley.

On October 5th, Palestinian Authority terrorists attempted to kill 9 year old Noam Glick in her home in Psagot.

On September 22, IDF soldier Gal Kobi was shot and killed by a Palestinian Authority sniper in Hebron.

On September 20, a Palestinian Authority terrorist lured off-duty IDF soldier Tomer Hazan to his death.

Arabs shot into Beit Hadassah in Hebron on Tuesday evening with an air gun. There were no injuries in the attack.

On Tuesday morning, a resident of Kedumim was shot in the face with an air gun, and lightly injured.

In Hebron, the residents are starting to prepare to host the many thousands of visitors expected for Shabbat Chayei Sarah, in a week and a half.

On Tuesday, Arabs attacked Border Policemen in the village of Beit Ichsa, which is located between Mevaseret Tzion and Ramot.

One soldier was injured in his eye. In response, the soldiers fired in the air, and 2 Arabs were arrested.

After the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal has been seeking out new partners to help support his Gaza based Islamic dictatorship and its ongoing terror activities against Israel and Egypt.

The military regime in Egypt has had almost enough of Hamas’s support for terror in the Sinai, and last week contemplated a direct military strike on Gaza. Epypt has been destroying Gaza’s terror tunnels in an attempt to stop the attacks against Egyptians in the Sinai.

Hamas leader Mashal met with Turkish PM Erdogan in Anakara this week to ensure and solidify Turkey’s support for Hamas.

Next week, Mashaal will be flying to Iran, for the first time in two years.

Iran’s financial support of Hamas has been dwindling over the past few years, and Mashal wants to get it back.

In order to help win Iranian support, Hamas is repositioning itself in favor of the Assad regime.

Mashal’s message this week has been for a third Initfada, and for everyone to point their guns and rifles at their united enemy – Israel.

A car bomb exploded in the Sinai on Thursday morning, killing 3 Egyptian soldiers and 1 Egyptian policeman.