Jordan Times
Friday, January 28, 2005
Abbas has work plan —
King
Agencies
HIS MAJESTY KING Abdullah on Thursday voiced optimism that new Palestinian
leader Mahmoud Abbas could become "a strong and effective partner in the peace
process" with Israel.
"Abu Mazen [Abbas] has a vision, a work plan and priorities... He has always
been against violence. He believes in dialogue and needs our support to rebuild
institutions," King Abdullah told Agence France-Presse Bureau Chief in Amman
Randa Habib in an interview.
"If Israel really wants peace, it should help the Palestinian leadership, ease
economic restrictions and rapidly launch a dialogue," the King said.
On Thursday, the Monarch told Abbas at a Raghadan Palace meeting that the
Kingdom supports the new Palestinian leadership, underlining the need to push
the peace process forward and encourage both sides of the conflict to fully
implement the roadmap to the Middle East peace process, the Jordan News Agency,
Petra, reported.
"The Palestinian election, which was smoothly held, paved the way for overcoming
the current stage and forging a bright future for the Palestinians," Petra
quoted the King as saying during the meeting.
The two leaders, meanwhile, said they were keen to coordinate efforts related to
the London Conference, which will be held in March to discuss means to push
peace forward and support the Palestinians (see story on page 2).
Abbas is to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Saturday on efforts to
reach a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian factions, before visiting
Russia and Turkey.
Sharon 'very satisfied'
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership on Thursday banned civilians from carrying
weapons and indicated it will appoint a new interior minister known for his
tough stance against fighters, clear signals of seriousness about reining in
violence — an Israeli precondition for peace talks.
Later Thursday, the Palestinians came in for praise from Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, who said that conditions are right for a breakthrough towards
peace, the Associated Press reported. Even before the decree was issued, Sharon
said in a newspaper interview that he was "very satisfied" with the actions of
Abbas, who has been pressing hard for a declaration by Palestinian factions of a
halt to attacks against Israel, ending four years of bloody violence. For now,
the fighters have agreed to a temporary suspension of violence to test Israel's
response.
Also Thursday, Palestinian police were preparing to deploy in central and
southern Gaza to stop fighters from attacking Israelis, as they have been doing
in northern Gaza for the past week, according to AP.
The new deployment was set for Friday morning, Palestinian officials said. An
increased presence was felt in the area as police trained for their new
assignments and repaired long-abandoned police posts.
In local elections in 10 localities in Gaza on Thursday, meanwhile, the Islamic
Hamas movement scored some big victories, according to exit polls, handily
defeating Abbas' Fateh Party in three of the four communities polled.
The Hamas victories reflected widespread support in Gaza for the violent Islamic
movement, which provides welfare, schools and kindergartens to the impoverished
people in the territory, alongside its attacks against Israel.
The decree banning Palestinian civilians from holding weapons was a gesture
towards Israel and the United States, which have long demanded disarming of
groups responsible for attacks that have killed more than 1,000 Israelis, as
well a double signal to Palestinians — that the Abbas regime will be based on
law and order, and that police will not allow fighters to strut in public with
their weapons.
The decree, issued by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, emphasised the law and order
issue, noting "the increase in the number of violent crimes in all the
governates because of the chaos of weapons." Toward the beginning of four years
of conflict, Israel targeted Palestinian police posts for destruction after
charges that the official security forces were involved in violence. The
Israelis declared that they would open fire on any armed Palestinian — in effect
disarming the police.
The main result was weakening the authority and power of the official police
forces. The vacuum was filled by the large groups, like Hamas, Islamic Jihad and
Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, as well as small armed gangs, ruling neighbourhoods
and refugee camps by force of arms and often clashing among themselves.
The resulting lawlessness upsets many Palestinians as much as the continued
Israeli occupation does.
The northern West Bank town of Jenin is a well known centre of groups and gangs,
and police have no authority there. Residents say they live in fear.
"I feel insecure with guns in the hands of the people on the street," said
Wissam Asaadi, 40. "I am worried about the security of my children and my home,"
he said. "For me personal safety is more important than the national goals" of
an end to the occupation and creation of a Palestinian state.
Samar Aghar, 30, said she encountered a violent incident on Thursday in her city
of Nablus. "I was in the market today and I saw five men shooting randomly in
the centre," she said. "They were stopping cars, looking for somebody and firing
their guns in a way that was frightening the children. I left the street and
went home immediately." She added, "I hate the uprising and I hate politics.”
Weapons should be kept well out of peoples' hands. I'm eager to see the
Palestinian Authority restore law and order." Abbas has said repeatedly that he
will not crack down on the groups, preferring to attain calm through negotiation
and understanding. It appeared that the first target of the weapons ban was
criminal activity, while fighters would be advised to keep their weapons out of
sight.
A Palestinian official said Abbas and Qureia will name Nasser Yousef as the new
Palestinian interior minister.
Yousef was in charge of cracking down on fighters in the mid-1990s, and his
appointment would send another message that the Palestinian leadership intends
to rein in violence.
The Palestinian security council also decided Thursday to retire 1,076 police
officers to make room for a new generation of officers.
From 1995 until the current uprising erupted in late 2000, Palestinian police
patrolled the cities and towns of the West Bank, and Israel's military deployed
at the edges of the West Bank and around Jewish settlements.
After a series of bloody suicide bombings in 2002, Israel sent its forces back
into the West Bank and retook the main towns and cities.
Palestinians are hoping that the new trend towards calm will result in an
Israeli pullback to pre-uprising positions.
In central and southern Gaza, Palestinian police were to have taken up positions
on Thursday. However, deployment was delayed because of technical difficulties
and will begin Friday, Palestinian commanders said.
Training for the deployment, three police jeeps carrying armed police officers
in full uniform drove down the main street of the southern town of Khan Younis
on Thursday. In a practice run, officers set up a checkpoint on the main road,
while a commander instructed them on how to conduct security checks.
The planned deployment of police in the volatile areas of southern and central
Gaza was aimed at providing calm for a political process to begin. Abbas and
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon were expected to meet for their first
summit, possibly in the next two weeks.
Speaking at a convention of building contractors in Tel Aviv Thursday evening,
Sharon said, "I believe that the conditions are now ripe to allow us and the
Palestinians to reach a historic breakthrough in the relations between us."
Sharon said if the Palestinians continue their present trend, Israel could
coordinate its Gaza withdrawal with them. Orginally Sharon planned the summer
pullout as a unilateral step.
Palestinians said Israel would release several hundred of the 7,000 prisoners it
is holding as a goodwill gesture before a summit, but Israeli foreign ministry
spokesman, Mark Regev, said there was no firm arrangement yet.
"Prisoner releases and other similar confidence-building measures are
appropriate as we move toward a meeting of the principals," he said. "Nothing
has been finalised yet." In another development, officials said Abbas rejected
the resignation of national security adviser Jibril Rajoub, who agreed to return
to his post.