JERUSALEM, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The head of Israel's Shin Bet said the Palestinian Authority was barely functioning in the West Bank and Gaza while Hamas was gaining ground.
Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin told Israeli military correspondents on Wednesday that the PA could only provide social services, but not much else.
"Their ability to enforce (their authority) on the ground is slim," he said, according to Israeli media reports.
He said the large quantities of weapons -- 3,000 guns, a million and a half bullets, 150-200 RPG launchers, hundreds of kilograms of explosives and a large number of pistols - smuggled through the Philadelphi route from Egypt into Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal last month had left the Egyptians "astonished."
"In the long run it will be in Egypt's interest to ensure no movement across the border, at least not into the Egyptian side," he said.
Diskin also said Hamas was running an efficient election campaign and was likely to do well in the January 2006 polls.
"Hamas has established itself as an equal power to the PA, and refuses to bow to its commands," Diskin said.
