Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Big Pharoah calls the Palestinians stupid. He's being far too kind.

The Palestinians are colossally stupid on a level previously unknown.

Israel goes and deals with a festering situation in a Jericho jail - namely dealing with six terrorists being held there under a 2002 agreement because the Palestinians were not living up to the obligations of that agreement. Among the six prisoners is one Ahmed Saadat, who is accused of assassinating an Israeli member of the Knesset, Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi. The Palestinians were threatening to release the six, in violation of the 2002 agreement.

There were US and British monitors at the jail to try and ensure compliance (namely that the Palestinians wouldn't simply leave the keys lying around for these six to head for the hills). The monitors left the jail for reasons that are still unclear, and Israel went in. After that, all hell broke loose at the jail and in Gaza.

The Palestinian response? They go after European aid workers in Gaza. Powerline writes:

Mr Saadat, who Israel blames for the assassination of a minister in 2001, has refused to surrender. [See the linked Jerusalem Post story below for the bacground: "Sa'adat, the secretary general of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine is believed to have masterminded Ze'evi's assasination. He never stood trial but was included in the deal struck with the Palestinian Authority whereby he, together with five others involved in Ze'evi's murder would be transferred to Jericho jail where they would be supervised by British and US agents. Prior to their leaving Yasser Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah to be transferred to Jericho, Arafat held a kangaroo court in his office and sentenced the four cell members."]

Hamdi Koran, who pulled the trigger and was sentenced to 18 years hard labor, Basel al Amar, sentenced to 12 years hard labor, Majdi Rimawi to eight years and Ahed Gholam to one year.

A British cultural centre in Gaza has been set ablaze and an EU compound stormed, in what appears to be a response to events in Jericho.

A Palestinian official has said two French citizens have been kidnapped.

Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been demonstrating against the Israeli operation in Jericho.

Palestinian militants from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Gaza City have warned US and UK nationals to leave the Palestinian territories immediately.

Where's the logic in all this? There is none, except that it's the same thing that the Palestinians do time and time again. They rant, rave, rampage, and rage against those who have done nothing against them.

Oh, and the six prisoners who claimed that they would never surrender alive? Well, they surrendered alive. LGF reports that the PFLP threatens more assassinations of Israeli officials.

UPDATE:
See Meryl Yourish and Vital Perspectives for more on today's incident at the Jericho prison and the background on the terrorists who Israel sought to keep under lock and key and the terrorists' backers and fellow travellers who want to continue with the carnage. Laurence Simon blogging at Meryl's also weighs in on the value of Palestinian agreements. I think he's thinking the Palestinians are full of crap.