Palestinian leader pledges to restore rule of law
AFP
Date: 04-25-05
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas pledged to restore the rule of law on the streets of the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank after appointing a new team at the helm of the security services.
Abbas travelled from his base in the West Bank to Gaza to oversee the installation of a new leadership of a Palestinian security network that has been trimmed from around a dozen different agenies to just three.
"The security of our citizens is our main concern," Abbas said Monday, ahead of talks with the new team at the helm.
"We have begun to work on it and we will continue to do so and we hope that much progress can be made in the future," he told a news conference.
"We are hoping to take measures on the ground so that citizens can feel really secure and we will not spare any effort to ensure this comes about."
Abbas appointed a new three-man team over the weekend to head up a slimmed-down Palestinian security network which will now involve only three branches -- military intelligence, police and national security.
The Palestinian leader was to present retirement medals to outgoing security officials, some of whom he has named as advisors in a bid to cushion any sense of resentment.
Streamlining the security services and appointing new leaders has been a regular US demand since Abbas succeeded the late Yasser Arafat in January.
Observers believe that the appointments are partly designed to curry favour with US President George W. Bush ahead of their summit at the White House that is expected to take place next month.
But the demands for reform of the security services have also been a consistent refrain from among the Palestinian people who have watched armed militants and common criminals operate with a growing sense of impunity.
The radical Islamist movement Hamas had rare words of praise for Abbas over his revamp of the security services and their personnel.
"We hope that these measures will serve as a step in the right direction to impose security and the rule of law in the Palestinian territories," said spokesman Mushir al-Masri.
The security purge follows the departure of Arafat's allies in a radical government reshuffle in February. It signals a further break from the Arafat era and should help to alleviate Israeli scepticism about his reform drive.
Sharon, who met Abbas in February, has recently spoken of his disappointment at what he sees as a lack of action by Abbas to rein in militant groups and predicted widespread looting after Jewish settlers leave Gaza later this summer.
Abbas, however, took a swipe at Sharon, accusing him of reneging on an agreement at the February summit in Egypt to transfer responsibility for security in five West Bank towns, including Ramallah.
"They have only withdrawn from Jericho and Tulkarem. The rest (of the promised withdrawals) have not been carried out for unfounded pretexts," he said.
Abbas insisted that he would not allow a free-for-all to take place after the Israelis depart from the territory.
Preventing "looting and protecting property are part of the responsibilities of the Palestinian Authority", he said.
He also spoke of his desire to coordinate with Israel over the upcoming withdrawal of troops and Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.
However, he said that he wanted more clarification about the pullout, especially over Israel's plans for the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt. At the moment the Israelis plan to maintain control over the border.
"The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza obviously interests us," said Abbas. "We want to know which zones it will exactly leave, what will be the borders and these issues will be the subject of discussions with the Israelis."
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