Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a new commander of security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said on Sunday, a move designed to alleviate tensions with Hamas. The new commander, Sulaiman Helles, is a member of AbbasÂ’s Fatah movement but is seen as having better relations with Hamas, the militant group that now leads the Palestinian government, than the man he replaces, Naser Youssef. The appointment follows a decision by Abbas last week to assume security control over GazaÂ’s border crossings, a move that angered Hamas, which said it violated power-sharing agreements. Hamas wants overall control of security affairs. The new appointment, if confirmed, would put Helles in charge of all paramilitary units in the West Bank and Gaza, a force of around 20,000 men. He would not, however, have control over the police and other preventative security forces in the territories. Hamas has said that the paramilitary forces should fall under its control as leader of the government.