The West Bank's police chief on Wednesday sent a
stern warning to the incoming Hamas government, telling the Islamic group not to "mess" with his forces.
The comments by Brig. Gen. Tarek Zeid reflected the growing tensions between Hamas and the defeated Fatah Party over who will control the Palestinian security forces. The forces have long been a Fatah fiefdom.
Advertisement
Zeid said Hamas would not be able to fire any of his officers, and said the new government will only be able to function if it ensures the cooperation of the police.
However, European security advisers say the 19,000-strong police force is ripe for an overhaul. They said the Islamist government may take necessary steps to shrink the bloated force and inject some of its own men.
Zeid, speaking at an opening ceremony for the refurbished Jericho police academy, stopped short of threatening a mutiny against Hamas, but made it clear the group should tread lightly in dealing with his force.
"I will not lose any of my sons," he said. "These institutions must be protected. And anyone who tries to mess with them will not serve the nation."
Zeid's oversees a force of 6,600 men. An additional 12,000 police are deployed in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas defeated Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party in legislative elections last month. Abbas, who was elected separately last year, is expected
to ask the group to form a government, following Saturday's inaugural session of the parliament.
With a solid majority of parliament seats, Hamas is expected to dominate the next Palestinian government and could have a say over key security matters. Palestinian law divides security responsibilities between the Palestinian leader and his prime minister, raising the likelihood that the two sides will have to compromise. Abbas, however, appoints all the key commanders.
Hamas' relations with the security forces has been strained, due to occasional police crackdowns on the militants, and their virtual exclusion from the force. This history has raised speculation that Hamas may try to purge the forces once it assumes power.
If Hamas wants to join the security forces, Zeid said, it will have to recognize the power of the old guard. "They are on the top of the tree now. We have the ladder," he said.
Wednesday's ceremony was attended by police chiefs, Western diplomats and European security advisers based in the West Bank. The center, the only training facility for police force in the West Bank, has been sponsored with money from the British, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian governments.
Jonathan McIvor, the head of the European Union mission advising the restructuring of the police, said Fatah has done a poor job streamlining the bloated force.
The Palestinian security forces have close to 60,000 members. Under 1993 interim peace accords with Israel, the Palestinians were designed to have a force of 35,000.
"I look forward to a new government which I hope will have renewed energy for real security sector reform, because it has to happen," said McIvor.
The EU has not yet made a decision on whether the mission will work with Hamas. The EU considers Hamas to be a terrorist group and has threatened to cut off millions of dollars in aid unless the group renounces violence and
recognizes Israel.
A European security adviser speaking on condition of anonymity said a new Hamas-led government, with which Europe is able to deal, would be more successful in implementing security reforms. In the long run, a Hamas
government would inject its own men in the forces, squeezing out the mostly Fatah men from the force.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the EU policy toward the mission has not been finalized.
Under the new renovations, the Europeans provided $512,000 for computer rooms, living facilities, and water wells. The academy has been open since 1994.
Hamas appoints faction chairman, parliament speaker Hamas announced Wednesday that it intends to appoint Abed al-Aziz Duaik to head the new Palestinian parliament.
Duaik is considered one of the most senior members of the organization in the West Bank and a member of the movement's more pragmatic wing.
Earlier Wednesday, the group announced that Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas member in Gaza and one of its leading radicals, would serve as the Hamas faction chairman in the new parliament.
Zahar had been considered a contender for the prime minister's job, and Wednesday's appointment meant he was no longer in the running.
Hamas sources said they expect the group to soon announce that the most senior Hamas man in Gaza and No. 1 on the party's parliamentary list, Ismail Haniyeh, will serve as prime minister.
These moves give the impression that the organization is appointing its more moderate members to the important positions, and giving hardliners like al-Zahar more peripheral roles.
All three men are among Hamas' most prominent and well-respected members among the Palestinian public. The appointments also signaled Hamas will divide its responsibilities between members in the West Bank and Gaza.
With travel between the areas restricted by Israel, the parliament has buildings in the West Bank and Gaza, holding legislative sessions by videoconference.
Duaik, the incoming speaker, said that once the new government is formed, Hamas would formulate its own peace plan, with a long-term truce with Israel as a centerpiece.
"I hope that after establishing the government ... we will sit down and have our own peace initiative," he said. "The truce will be at the top of this initiative," he said.
The new parliament will convene for its first meeting since being elected on Saturday. Hamas holds a 72-seat majority in the 132-seat governing body. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is expected to ask Hamas in this meeting to form the next government.
Olmert mulls Israeli response Top Israeli officials began three days of consultations on Wednesday to agree on a policy for dealing with Hamas. Discussions Wednesday were focusing on the issue of the tax transfers, officials said.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will discuss on Friday steps Israel should take against the Palestinian Authority, in reaction to Hamas' rise to power.
In a TV interview Wednesday, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to rally international opposition to Hamas. "It is part of an international obstacle. We need to ensure our future with an experienced and responsible leadership that knows the job," he told Channel 2 TV.
There had been indications that Hamas would wait until after Israel's parliamentary elections to appoint a Cabinet. In the face of Israeli pressure, there has also been widespread speculation that Hamas might turn to independent candidates for top political posts.
Olmert said Israel would consider the Palestinian Authority a Hamas entity after the new Palestinian parliament is sworn in on Saturday. He also said Israel would act accordingly after this shift.
Olmert will have to decide between two options: to take immediate steps to cut ties with the Palestinians, or to present Abbas with an ultimatum to promise to dismantle the terror organizations.
Political sources in Jerusalem said, however, that this ultimatum "would require assuming that Israel will allow [Abbas] to live up to his commitment to dismantle [them] in a short time."
Olmert said Tuesday evening, in a Jerusalem speech addressing the presidents of American Jewish organizations, that "the Palestinian government under [Abbas'] leadership, which we honor and support, needs to make a serious choice: Do they want to become part of a terror organization, or do they want, even at this late stage, to take serious steps [to dismantle terror]."
Before the parliamentary elections, Abbas promised that after the lawmaking body convened he would dismantle the terror groups - including Hamas - within 30 days, with the parliament's approval.
"If it becomes clear that he doesn't want to - or can't - accomplish this, the situation will be reevaluated" by the Israeli side, poltical sources in Jerusalem said.
The working assumption in Jerusalem is that Abbas won't dismantle the militant groups, but the ultimatum has strengthened the international legitimacy of any steps Israel might take in response.
But on Wednesday, Haniyeh said a Cabinet would be in place around early March.
"We will be ready in two weeks" from Saturday, he told The Associated Press. Ignoring the Israeli threats, Hamas officials said the government, including prime minister, would be stacked with its members.
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
