Palestinian Authority officials are becoming increasingly shrill and absurd as they scramble to avoid doing anything about terrorism; so much that even State Department functionary Richard Boucher can’t hide his disdain: Palestinians Accuse U.S. of Blackmail in Bomber Hunt. This time the Palestinians are whining about a US decision to put Gaza off limits to US officials until the PA shows progress in the investigation of the terrorist murder of three Americans last October. And with their usual charming propensity for inverting the moral meaning of Western words, they’ve invented a new definition for “blackmail:”

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Yasser Arafat’s security adviser on Wednesday accused the United States of blackmailing the Palestinian Authority over the hunt for the killers of three Americans in the Gaza Strip last October.

U.S. officials have been stopped from going to Gaza since the Oct. 15 roadside bomb attack on a diplomatic vehicle, making it more difficult to assist aid programs for the Palestinians.

“The Americans stopped their involvement waiting for the results (of our investigation). This is blackmail,” security adviser Brigadier Jibril Rajoub told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

“I think the Americans are using this … isolated case in order not to be involved, in order to blackmail the Palestinian Authority.”

The United States dismissed the accusation, reiterated its commitment to the peace process and its aid programs and complained the Palestinians could do more to arrest the killers of the three security guards.

“Comments like that are ridiculous,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “We have seen some cooperation (on the investigation), but we think that cooperation needs to be further increased.”

Wait. Isn’t the blackmailer usually the one who demands payment? So how can the US blackmail the Palestinians? Aren’t they demanding something from us? My head hurts.

They don’t even have anything we want.

Unless you count stopping the murder.