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Palestinian leaders move to curb militant violence Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Posted on Thu, Jan. 27, 2005
Palestinian leaders move to curb militant violence with weapons ban
BY JOEL GREENBERG
Chicago Tribune
JERUSALEM - (KRT) - The Palestinian Authority on Thursday banned civilians from carrying weapons, taking a step to curb militants who often brandish guns on the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia issued the order at a meeting of the Palestinian National Security Council, said Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian minister in charge of negotiations.
"Abu Ala issued an order at the National Security Council meeting to all the security branches that they must not allow anyone to carry weapons without permission," Erekat said, using Qureia's nom de guerre.
It was unclear how the order would be enforced and whether it meant that militants would be disarmed, as demanded by Israel.
The order was an attempt to reassert Palestinian Authority control over cities and towns where gunmen have enforced gang rule and formed armed militias affiliated with various militant factions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an end to the "chaos of weapons" and the restoration of the rule of law.
In his inauguration speech this month he declared: "The rule of law is embodied in one authority and one legal weapon in the hands of this authority."
Abbas last week sent his security forces into the northern Gaza Strip to prevent firings of rockets and mortars at Israeli targets and he has persuaded armed groups to suspend attacks while he attempts to negotiate a formal cease-fire with Israel.
In a meeting Wednesday with Israeli officials, Palestinian negotiators proposed a mutual cease-fire declaration.
"We are very interested in the issue of a cease-fire and the declaration of a cease-fire, and we've informed the Israelis of this," Abbas said Thursday. "The Israelis have to respond quickly and not wait for another two or three weeks. The issue cannot bear waiting."
Assaf Shariv, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel would examine the Palestinian proposals. Sharon has said that Israel would not be party to a truce with militants but would respond to quiet with quiet.
In another move to reassert the control of the Palestinian Authority, Abbas and Qureia decided to appoint Nasser Yousef as interior minister, in charge of the security forces, Palestinian officials said. Yousef was in charge of a crackdown on militants in the 1990s, and his appointment was seen as a signal that the Palestinian leadership intended to act firmly to halt militant violence.
A deployment of Palestinian police forces in the southern Gaza Strip was delayed Thursday because of what Palestinian commanders called technical difficulties. There were also reported disagreements with Israeli officers about some of the areas of the proposed deployment. The forces were expected to take up their positions Friday.
Sharon had praise for Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, in a newspaper interview published Thursday.
"There is no doubt that Abu Mazen has started to work," Sharon told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper. "I am very satisfied with what I am hearing is happening on the Palestinian side and I am very interested in advancing processes with him."
An American envoy, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, said after a meeting with Qureia that he was encouraged by the latest Palestinian steps and by Israel's response.
"We have no illusions that such an opportunity is fragile," he said. "The United States is determined to do everything it can to help."
In another development, the first municipal elections in the Gaza Strip were held Thursday in 10 districts of the coastal territory. Hamas is participating in the elections, and its candidates are expected to pose a stiff challenge to Abbas' Fatah Party. Hamas has gained wide support through its extensive social service networks and is considered by many to be free of the corruption that has plagued the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas boycotted elections for president of the authority on Jan. 9 because they were the byproduct of self-rule accords with Israel that the group opposes.
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© 2005, Chicago Tribune.
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