| Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has brought a top security commander out of retirement, in part to curb a planned Hamas troop buildup in the West Bank, officials said Saturday. The commander, Ismail Jaber, will take command of all the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, with the exception of the three branches that fall under the control of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. In April 2005, Abbas had sent Jaber and other senior officials into retirement in a house-cleaning of the corruption-tainted security forces. However, little progress has been made in carrying out reforms. |