The Palestinians are obviously not ready for their own state yet as anyone with a gun makes the Abbas "government" wet it´s pants.

Palestinian officials on Thursday backed away from a declaration that they would go after gunmen who shot up Mahmoud Abbas' office building and rampaged through Ramallah, underlining the difficulties authorities face in restoring order in the chaotic West Bank.

Abbas, who was in the building but was not hurt in the gunfire late Wednesday, ordered a crackdown, and security officials said the renegades had "crossed a red line" by attacking the seat of government. But in the light of day, the officials adopted a conciliatory line, and one admitted they feared coming under armed attack themselves.

Now compare this with the actions of Prime Minister Allawi of Iraq who had three relatives kidnapped by insurgents.

The premier himself had commented that he was “concerned” about his relatives’ fate but would not give in to the kidnappers’ demand. All three were eventually released without incident.