Well, If prices are spiralling, no wonder they can't afford the basics. Give them more money!

the price of a U.S.-made M-16 on the black market has doubled, from $5,000 to $10,000

Maybe because they work? I wonder whan an Uzi goes for?

i have no problem with the palis spending 10 grand on a 40 year old assault rifle as long as it is used to kill other palis.

I just wish those cowards would openly declare war already, then well see how effective that M16 is against the most advanced fighter aircraft known to man.

I have a child working in the Negev right now. G-d help them all. Israel is headed for serious confrontation and it isn't looking good unless the IDF's hands are untied. Olmert is willing to sell us down the river in the name of 'peace', piece by piece. Feh! With the un, eu, quartet, and US looking over her shoulder, Israel is bound up tight.

I wonder what the average moonbat supporting the Palestinians by donations would say concerning this issue.

Look who else is a buying spree:

Chavez Kalashnikov factory plan stirs fear

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 17 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez's plans to build the first Kalashnikov factory in South America are stirring fears Venezuela could start arming his leftist allies in the hemisphere with Russian assault rifles.

Chavez denies such ambitions, saying his government bought 100,000 Russian-made AK-103 assault rifles and a license from Moscow to make Kalashnikovs and ammunition to bolster its defenses against "the most powerful empire in history" — the United States.

[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

#6: jrdroll

It seems Hugo doesn't trust his 500 Venezuelan jungle inhabitants with poisened arrows too much.

No way will these coward child killers attack Israel.. not yet anyway..Jordan is the target.. and or Egypt.

...he offered to sell NEWSWEEK an unsolicited MP5 submachine gun...

An easy mistake to make, as he's surely seen Newsweak's reporters hanging around with shooters on the street for photo ops.

This ought to help free up some more Hamas money to buy more weapons..

U.S., Other Quartet Powers Back Temporary Aid to Palestinians [Link: www.bloomberg.com...]

European Union leaders agreed two days ago to boost aid to the Palestinians by 100 million euros ($126 million) on top of the 154 million euros they have made available since the beginning of the year using the mechanism endorsed by the other Quartet powers yesterday.

These must be the "new mechanisms" that the EC mentioned in their new 100M package...

I hope the Israelis are considering the possibilities in selling "modified" weapons to the palis on the black market.....

Antidote to the bad news: Bill Whittle is back with the introductory chapter of a new book he's writing called An American Civilization.

Link: [Link: www.ejectejecteject.com...]

A sample:

Everywhere I’ve looked – and I’ve been looking around a lot – I get the sense of powerless frustration, of standing on the beach as the Thousand Foot Wave rises up to block out the sun and take everything we have built and fought for with it.

The forces of ignorance and barbarism – bearers of ruin and despair wherever they make camp – are growing in confidence. But beside their will to destroy and die they have nothing. These Death Cult barbarians think this is all they will need – that, and an initial alliance with the forces they most despise. I still hold out hope that they will crack open a second book – a history book, say – that might at the eleventh hour give them some insight into the avocado nature of the Civilization they seem determined now to assault: soft and pulpy on the outside, impenetrably tough and hard within. They are going to do more than chip a tooth on us, these raving, bloodthirsty lunatics: they are about to make, I think, the same mistake that others have made before them – to see the Cindy Sheehans and Michael Moores as representative of a corrupt and dying culture, rather than what they really are: somewhat entertaining animal acts we Westerners use to pass the time while waiting for the next opportunity to pull the gloves off, and kick some new inhuman, barbaric horde onto the ash heap of history, where reside Aristocracy, Slavery, Fascism and Communism, holding in common only the mark of our boots on their asses.

Lizardoids who haven't read Bill's previous essays, you have a treat in store.

Hamas is buying like crazy

Zionist propaganda. Hamas is a humanitarian organization.
/sarc off

OT: Save pandas, not whales

bj- Olmert, who won an election, seems to be very good at tying the IDF's hands without much arm twisting by the US, EU, or UN.

Maybe Hamas can buy some more mines so they can create new Israeli beach massacre stories. Evidence continues to pile up that Hamas monstrously turns its weapons on its own people for cynical propaganda purposes.

[Link: www.melaniephillips.com...]

These Palis make the culture of dung beetles look civilized.

A Palestinian arms dealer in Ramallah, who wished to remain anonymous as he offered to sell NEWSWEEK an unsolicited MP5 submachine gun, says that the price of a U.S.-made M-16 on the black market has doubled, from $5,000 to $10,000, since Hamas took power. “Hamas is buying like crazy,” the dealer says.

What? Are they TOO GOOD for Kalashnikovs now?
I swear, they have gone Hollywood on us.

13 Connecticut Yankee

That is the best news today. It's been so long.

Well, I guess I know know why Russian-made 7.62x39 FMJ and SP ammo has been so scarce. It's being used to feed hungry Pali children.

/sarc

BREAKING:

N. Koreans Ordered To Raise Their Flag At 2PM, and Listen to Broadcast

N. Korean leadership ordered its citizen to raise their flag and listen to their (government) communique from TV in the evening, according to Sankei Shimbun (of Japan), quoting Japanese government sources.

The paper said it is paying attention this development because it could be related to the launch of Taepodong-2.

Link.

So how many M-16s are required to build schools, roads and hospitals?

#13 conn. yank.

That was terrific. I feel all soft and fuzzy now. My inner western man-child has just read a sweet bedtime story. Good stuff!

Typical. Like North Korea, the delusional idiots are buying weapons instead of feeding their people.

#23 solomonpanting

Let's see, five to shoot the trees down. 8 to make boards out of the trees. One to shoot underloaded rounds to nail the boards. One to shoot someone to be Principle, One to shoot up some teachers. And a dozen to shoot up the classrooms. Let's see that comes to 28 M-16s. Thankfully the Palis don't have to build to code.

The reason for buying M-16's rather then the more popular and definetly more photogenic AK-47 is merely a matter of recoil. Since M-16's use the smaller 5.56mm (.223)caliber round it produces less recoil then the 7.62mm (.30) caliber AK-47. It makes it easier for smaller people to use. (i.e. children)

$5000 for an M-16? These idiots are getting ripped off big time. An M-16 retails for around 600-700 bucks in the western markets.

It would send a powerful message to shoot the NK missle down.

#26 David E

And to think we use heavy equipment (Cats!) and power tools.

Still waiting for Rosie O'Donnel to condemn these gun purchases.....or are guns OK when they are just for killing Joos?

29 thanos- it would send a powerful message if we tried and missed too

#21 Cartman "Well, I guess I know know why Russian-made 7.62x39 FMJ and SP ammo has been so scarce. It's being used to feed hungry Pali children."

I feel your pain, brudder... Have a 1000 round stash for SHTF to feed my Yugo SKS rifles with... Will bite the bullet & purchase another 500 rounds... Miss the days of $62.00 for 1000 rounds... sigh.

hans ze beeman

wonder what the average moonbat supporting the Palestinians by donations would say concerning this issue.

No doubt they'll double their donations.
It's for the children, after all.

/

#32 Jim,
Sad, but that would probably be the case. But what fun if it worked!

Who is going to pay for all of these weapons purchases in the future?

I think that ultimately the country that will pay for Hamas' debts, and fund Hamastan, will be Iran. Iran shares the same basic goals that Hamas does. So it will pay for whatever Hamas needs, including weapons.

Any funding that is given to Hamastan will reduce Iran's ultimate expenses. So providing funding to Hamastan is akin to giving money to Iran.

We need to mark this date in history: 6/18/06 - Newsweek published an article on Palestinian violence that does not blame Israel.

Will wonders never cease?

35 redshirt- if we try to and it works we will hear about it. If we try and it doesn't the NYT will leak it. Glad I'm not a policy maker.

#27 Just_A_Grunt

I've found that the recoil on the AK is relatively light, probably due to the weight and construction of the weapon. But yes, it's fairly bulky for a smaller person, let alone a teenager. I suppose these weapons were never designed with that in mind, but Hitler and Stalin certainly revolutionized the concept of "children at war".

Look. The Palestinians NEED to defend themselves from the evil zionazis. Guns are more important than food right now. If it weren't for the Joooos the Palis would be buying food and meds for themselves and their kids. So it would be unconscionable not to give the Pals more aid!
/anti-semite moonbat off

Well I wonder how the folks on the left feel today knowing that the North Koreans may now posess the ability to reach them with a missle. I don't feel a lot of sympathy for these west coast folks. It is their liberal icons which enabled the Koreans to develope both nuclear technology and advanced guidance systems thanks to Carter and Clinton. Maybe they can get Vacaville, CA celebrity Cindy Sheehan, mother of a soldier slain in Iraq to appeal to Kim Jung Ill human side, or maybe Joe Wilson will produce documents from a fact finding trip he went on at the behest of the vice-president to prove tht all of this long range missle talk is just baloney. How about Pelosi or Boxer confronting the dictator?
The west coast may get nuked but they no doubt are more concerned about the damage to the trees and snot nosed mudmouse then they are any loss of human life, well except for Hollywood screenwriters.

41 just a grunt--

I wonder how the folks on the left feel today

That's easy. "It's George Bush's Chimpy McShrub's fault!"

#33 Scorched

I've heard all kinds of theories as to why the "affordable" standard ammo for Kalashnikov-type weapons has dried up, with the price tag rising for what's still out there. I won't expound any further. I sometimes get yelled at when I go off-topic on weaponry! ;)

$5-10K for an M16?

You've gotta be sh*ttin me.

If that's true, the Pally "cash" problem is solved. All they have to do is sell their guns and they'll be flush with cash.

I thought they didn't have any money for basic necessities.

Apparently they do.

They just don't have any money for frivolous things - like food, medicine, etc., for their people.

The people who chose to elect them, by the way.

Tap-tap. Nope - sympathy meter still won't budge.

#43 Cartman.

Its simple. The glut is over.

Demand has increased and so has raw material and transportation costs.

Inevitably, as after any major conflict, there will a bunch of cheapo surplus ammo to hit the market. . . but I wouldn't hold my breath for it now!

I'd just like to say how wrong it would be for anyone to start planting roadside IED's and blowing up innocent Hamas miiita guys making the Hamas government look bad.

#47 Piglet

What would be even worse would be if some Israeli undercover team whacked a Palestinian leader then framed one of the other factions, thereby provoking a shooting war.

Never going to happen, though. . .the Israelis know its just a matter of time before it happens all by itself, and then they'll catch the blame for it anyway.

#13 Conn Yankee

Thanks for the post. Bill Whittle is certainly awesome! Been waiting a long time, so I haven't been checking his site. Wonderful piece.

#41 Just_A_Grunt:

FOAD.

My families live on the West Coast.

And so does Charles Johnson.

JG

I think the claim that Hamas is laying out $10K for each M-16 is highly questionable. Remember, there are many thousands of these and similar weapons in the hands of thousands of different people in Gaza and the West Bank. The black market for firearms is a textbook free market, so the laws of supply and demand apply. I just can't see the market price for a single M-16 rising that high when there are so many weapons available in the hands of so many different people and so little cash around.

Now, there definately could be isolated cases of transactions for $10K by a select few Hamas "employees" who have access to briefcases full of someone else's cash, but the notion that the "market price" for an M-16 has risen to $10K is crazy talk.

Its either an outright lie, or someone at Hamas is paying far over the real market price.

Remember, this action comes at a time when donations that bypass Hamas are met with underwhelming acknowledgement.

Let's see, $10,000 for an M-16. Do the math: how many schools, hospitals, doctors, housing and other accoutrements of civilization can be puchased for $10,000?

Maybe the Jooooooos will "loan" Fatah enough Uzis to level the playing field.

Sweet false prophet! In six months there would be no Fatah or Hamas.

I love it when a plan comes together But the UN would put the blame on Israel.

Of course.

/Zionist mishegas gene :-)

Let's hope that they turn those $10,000 M-16s on themselves.

Ammunition costs would be cheaper...

#51 mich-again

You're absolutely right.

$10000 is more than most Palestinian families earn in two years (except, of course, if they are part of the kleptocracy with suitcases of cash).

If M16s really cost $5 or 10k a pop the Pallys would be whacking each other left and right over them.

Maybe this is just a bad translation. How about 5000 NIS each?

At current exchange rates, that would be around $1100 now, which actually might be a reasonable bootleg price for a new-in-box M16 under short supply and high demand.

#51 mich-again, #56 looking closely -

I think it's worse than you credit; from the CIA Factbook, in 2003 per capita GDP was $1100 in the West Bank and $600 in Gaza, with growth rates at 6.2% (2004) and 4.5% (2003) respectively. I suspect those rates have gone shaply negative since Hamas gained power. So, the total productivity of at least four and a half years, more likely NINE years or more, of a "Palestinian's" life are traded for EACH rifle. And this I think truly expresses Islam's regard for its deluded followers.

Boy, these Hamas guys are dumb. They could have gotten thousands of rifles and a few million bullets for free, by hijacking the ones Olmert just gave Abbas.

Olmert prefers the genocide by peace process that Abbas represents. Hamas is just a little too brash for him.

Where do I order one? Although I'd prefer the MP5... maybe that newsweek guy could pick one up for me.

#41 lots if Lizardoids live on the West Coast. Including me. Please don't wish death on me and my family. It hurts my feelings.