On October 27, 2005 during an interview, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (see photo at left) stated that any demand by Israel for the disarmament of the Palestinians before the resumption of peace talks may result in civil war. Mubarak has a good understanding of the problems confronting Mahmoud Abbas (see photo at right). Abbas is not in a strong enough position to collect weapons from Fatah in Ramallah, never mind the rest of the armed groups in the Palestinian Territories.

The question of disarming the Palestinian factions has been a sore subject in Gaza and the West Bank. In 2000, Yasser Arafat (Intel Report) had special civil police units in Gaza and the West Bank (WAR Report and WAR Report) trained to facilitate a weapons collection program. The team in Gaza made a couple of showcasing raids, but Arafat did not intend to use these units to collect the weapons of the various armed groups. Even Arafat realized that unless there was a total change in the situation, the collection of weapons was not going to happen. Abbas does not have the political capital that Arafat had with the Palestinian people, and until individuals see true change and no need for the armed fighters, they will continue to maintain their weapons caches.