Militant to lead new PA police force
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Friday, 21 April 2006: 11.30 CET) – Israel has vowed that it will continue to pursue a wanted militant named by the Hamas-led Palestinian government to lead a new police force, Ha'aretz reports.
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) newly-appointed interior and national security minister, Saeed Seyam of Hamas, announced the formation of a new "operational force" on Thursday, saying it would be under his personal control.
Seyam named the founder of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the Gaza Strip, Jamal Abu Samhadana, as the first leader of the new armed police force. Ha'aretz noted that Samhadana is held responsible by Israel for several bombings during the second intifada.
According to Seyam, Samhadana will become "the inspector general of the Interior Ministry and the person in charge of rehabilitating the security services".
The PRC is comprised of former militants from Fatah militias, and PA security service members and activists from Hamas, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Islamic Jihad. It did not sign up to the temporary ceasefire with Israel signed in February 2005 between the PA and Palestinian militant groups and has continued to carry out attacks on Israeli targets.
The group was also responsible for the assassination of former PA strongman Moussa Arafat on 7 September 2005.
Ha'aretz reports that the appointment of the PRC leader is designed to win favor with the Samhadana clan which controls much of the southern Gaza Strip. The family has traditionally supported Fatah.
The creation of the new force also marks a deepening in the power struggle between the PA presidency and parliament. An adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeneih, told reporters that the government could not create its own security forces without the approval of the president and that Abbas had only heard of the creation of the new organization through the media.
Labor legislator and former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told reporters on Friday that the fact that Hamas leaders and Samhadana hold government positions should not make them immune to assassination.
"We also need to keep Hamas in our sights, not just the police chief," Yatom told Israeli Army Radio. "Even Hamas government ministers are legitimate targets for assassination."
"Whoever is involved with terror must not be immune under any circumstances, whether or not he is the interior minister in the terrorist Hamas government," he added.
The Palestinian Authority's (PA) newly-appointed interior and national security minister, Saeed Seyam of Hamas, announced the formation of a new "operational force" on Thursday, saying it would be under his personal control.
Seyam named the founder of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) in the Gaza Strip, Jamal Abu Samhadana, as the first leader of the new armed police force. Ha'aretz noted that Samhadana is held responsible by Israel for several bombings during the second intifada.
According to Seyam, Samhadana will become "the inspector general of the Interior Ministry and the person in charge of rehabilitating the security services".
The PRC is comprised of former militants from Fatah militias, and PA security service members and activists from Hamas, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Islamic Jihad. It did not sign up to the temporary ceasefire with Israel signed in February 2005 between the PA and Palestinian militant groups and has continued to carry out attacks on Israeli targets.
The group was also responsible for the assassination of former PA strongman Moussa Arafat on 7 September 2005.
Ha'aretz reports that the appointment of the PRC leader is designed to win favor with the Samhadana clan which controls much of the southern Gaza Strip. The family has traditionally supported Fatah.
The creation of the new force also marks a deepening in the power struggle between the PA presidency and parliament. An adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeneih, told reporters that the government could not create its own security forces without the approval of the president and that Abbas had only heard of the creation of the new organization through the media.
Labor legislator and former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told reporters on Friday that the fact that Hamas leaders and Samhadana hold government positions should not make them immune to assassination.
"We also need to keep Hamas in our sights, not just the police chief," Yatom told Israeli Army Radio. "Even Hamas government ministers are legitimate targets for assassination."
"Whoever is involved with terror must not be immune under any circumstances, whether or not he is the interior minister in the terrorist Hamas government," he added.
posted by Marko at 4/21/2006 08:10:00 AM
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