Scholarship Application, Palestinian-style

The Jerusalem Post reports:

Aksa Brigades gunmen storm PA offices

Dozens of armed members of the Aksa Martyrs' Brigades surrounded the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister's Office in Ramallah on Thursday morning, according to Palestinian media reports.

Al-Jazeera, meanwhile, reported that the gunmen had already taken over Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's office. According to the satellite television network, the Aksa activists had previously raided the offices of the PA's Transportation Ministry.

There were no reports of violence at the scene as yet.

The gunmen were reportedly protesting the cancellation on the part of the Hamas government of certain decisions made by the previous government, including the granting of taxi licenses to Fatah activists. They were also demanding monthly stipends from the cash-strapped Hamas government.

Let me get this straight - "activists" armed to the teeth raid government offices - but there's no violence taking place? Must be some Middle Eastern thing I don't get.

On another note: Has any German student ever tried to storm the offices of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes in order to extort monthly stipends? Taking the Spirit of Munich (thanks to this guy for the expression) prevailing in Germany into account, such action might actually work.

Here's a picture of another non-violent "demonstration" in Gaza - that time "against corruption" - or so Spiegel tells us.

Der Spiegel, January 26, 2004.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung observed yet another peaceful demonstration of activists on September 5, 2003 (that one prompted the PA's then-prime-minister Abu Mazen to step down):

No signs of violence were to be seen on this occasion, either.

And what do the masked avengers below do? You guessed it - speak out against violence!