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| Middle East |
| Security apparatus first target of Palestinian shake-up |
| 2002-05-16 |
| The multifarious Palestinian security services, whose members are accused by Israel of involvement in attacks, will be the first objects of the reforms promised by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, officials say. This should be good. Might even be hee-hee-larious... Arafat said in a speech to the Palestinian parliament Wednesday, "I will present a new formula for the administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its ministries and security apparatus in order to rebuild it on a firmer basis." Does that mean there's gonna be a distinction between cops and robbers? A Palestinian official, who preferred not to be identified, out of fear for his life and limb told AFP that while there had been no strong indication of Arafat's intent to make real changes to other institutions, "preparations and contacts are under way to restructure the security services." Yasser's not real interested in things that don't involve guns and explosives. The official said Tuesday's visit to Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah of the head of Egyptian intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, "reflects the coordination between Egypt, the United States and the Palestinian Authority to prepare the reform of these services". No details have been released of Suleiman's talks, but the head of the Palestinian preventive security in the Gaza Strip, Colonel Mohammad Dahlan, a close aide of Arafat, accompanied him back to Egypt to continue their discussions. That also gets Dahlan out of range of explosives for awhile... Dahlan suggested last week that the number of security services be reduced to one or two by a series of mergers. There are currently some 10 different security bodies, with a total of 40,000 members. They include the preventive security, Arafat's personal guard known as Force 17, intelligence agencies and the national security, or police. Didn't Parkinson's Law say something about when the number of agencies increases, the accountability of any single agency decreases? Palestinian sources said the United States, the European Union and Israel all wanted one strong Palestinian security force, essential to control the situation on the ground and ensure the relaunching of the peace process. Aides to US President George W. Bush say the current labyrinthine security structure lacks transparency and accountability because of its multiple centres of authority. Now, we're not sayin' it was designed that way for that purpose, but... Since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising at the end of September 2000, Israel has frequently accused members and officers of the various forces of involvement in anti-Israeli attacks by various radical groups. Force 17 and other units were singled out in Israeli reprisals for such attacks, with bombing raids on their various bases, and last month's massive operation in the West Bank virtually destroyed their infrastructure and left many policemen dead. "Surely it was by accident," an IDF spokesman said, piously. "The debate currently under way concerns several proposals, including whether to have a single authority for security or two," the Palestinian official said. Anydbody want to be they'll go for the higher number that's available? A member of the Palestinian parliament, Hatem Abdel Kader, confirmed to AFP that the Palestinians were working with the Americans and Egyptians on this matter, but added, "We will resist any change which would not be against the interests and security of the Palestinian people." Into which category he manages to lump all change... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |