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| Israel-Palestine |
| Arafat Fends Off Challenge Over Reforms |
| 2004-08-26 |
| Yasser Arafat fended off another challenge to his authority Wednesday when Palestinian lawmakers backed away from sweeping reform demands, instead approving a watered down set of recommendations. A wave of chaos plaguing the Palestinian territories, meanwhile, took another victim when gunmen in Gaza seriously wounded a senior intelligence official. The two developments are an outgrowth of years of Arafat's one-man control, which international donors and Palestinian reformers have criticized as corrupt and inefficient, pitting rival security forces against each other. Israel's intention to withdraw from the Gaza Strip late next year has sparked a power struggle among rival armed groups as Israel refuses to coordinate with Arafat's regime. Israel contends Arafat is implicated in terrorism, but the United States and Egypt warn that bypassing his Palestinian Authority might lead to a Gaza takeover by Islamic militants. In Wednesday's incident, gunmen opened fire at a convoy carrying the deputy Palestinian intelligence chief, seriously wounding him in the chest and killing two bodyguards. Abu Rajab was transferred to an Israeli hospital for treatment. The Palestinian officer, Tareq Abu Rajab, was traveling in a two-vehicle convoy in northern Gaza City when shots rang out, witnesses said. One of the vehicles flipped over. There was no immediate word on who carried out the shooting. Security officials said they were investigating. Rajab, who keeps a low public profile, is an old Arafat ally. Most recently, he was in charge of security for Palestinian diplomatic missions abroad, officials said. Arafat stonewalled his detractors once again Wednesday. Refusing to sign presidential decrees needed for restructuring his administration, Arafat instead pledged to take the necessary steps in a letter to the parliament, and the lawmakers approved it, 31-12. The recommendations included forming a viable government capable of fighting corruption more effectively and restoring law and order. It also called on Arafat to follow through on promises made in a speech last week to crack down on graft. Arafat, confined to his Ramallah headquarters for three years by Israel, has come under increasing local pressure to streamline and clean up his administration and to relinquish authority over some or all of the many competing security forces. Arafat has resisted, while pledging to take action. However, matters have come to a head with the spreading chaos in Gaza and signs of loss of control in the West Bank, where armed gangs of militants rule the streets in some towns. A recent wave of kidnappings underlined the anarchic security situation. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 A shocking development, who could have foreseen this? It will reverberate thru the ME for decades may even weeks. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-26 4:11:58 PM |