RAMALLAH, 25 August 2003 — A new rift erupted in the Palestinian leadership yesterday over command of the security forces as Israel’s army chief warned that every Hamas member is a “target for liquidation.”
The latest crisis between veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was triggered by Arafat’s refusal to relinquish control over security forces — as demanded by the United States in a push for dismantling armed groups.
It appears unlikely Arafat will back down since his authority will be considerably weakened if he gives up command over security; he controls several key security branches, while Abbas controls the rest.
Abbas and his security chief, Mohammed Dahlan, have said they need control over all men under arms to confront Hamas, Islamic Jihad and renegades in their own Fatah movement. Arafat stalled when asked to support such a crackdown after last week’s bombing of a Jerusalem bus.
“Every member of Hamas is a potential target for liquidation,” Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon said yesterday in the first public comment by a senior defense official on Israel’s new policy, adopted after the bus bombing.
Four Palestinians were killed last night when two Israeli attack helicopters blew up a car with missiles in the west of Gaza City.
The vehicle suffered a direct hit. Witnesses said two members of Hamas were among the four killed. They identified them as Wahid Al-Hams and Ahmed Shtawi who is considered to be a senior Hamas leader.
In a meeting of Fatah’s Central Committee on Saturday, several members proposed appointing Gen. Nasser Yousef, a long-time Arafat loyalist, as overall commander of security forces. The proposal was intended to sideline Dahlan, who is unpopular in Fatah’s top circles and fell out with Arafat last year.
Arafat said he didn’t mind appointing Yousef as Dahlan’s boss, but balked at relinquishing control, participants said. As prime minister, Abbas also holds the role of interior minister, though Dahlan in effect has the job. Abbas yesterday stood by Dahlan. Appointing Yousef, with only some forces under his control, “is a wrong approach that changes nothing,” Abbas told Israel TV’s Channel Two. Abbas also said Dahlan will not resign as security chief.
Also yesterday, a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed about seven kilometers from the Israeli city of Ashkelon, about 10 meters from an unmanned lifeguard post. It was the deepest a Palestinian rocket has struck in Israel in recent memory.
