Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday outlawed all armed Palestinian groups except for the official PA security services.

He also issued an order exempting Gaza Strip residents from paying taxes.

"On the basis of the declaration of a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories, and by virtue of my authority, all armed militias, groups and brigades that do not belong in practice to the security services shall be treated as illegal organizations," read the first order.

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The order forbade such groups to conduct any activity, whether secret or public, and said that criminal investigations would be opened against anyone caught participating in such activity.

"The government must halt the phenomenon of armed groups, prevent the bearing of arms and confiscate guns, explosives and any type of weaponry purchased illegally, since they endanger the public order," the decree continued.

However, it remains unclear how Abbas will enforce this order. The territories contain hundreds of armed men who do not belong to any of the security services.

According to the new Palestinian information minister, Riyad al-Maliki, members of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have agreed to turn in their weapons in the government in exchange for guarantees that Israel not try to arrest or kill them. However, Al-Aqsa members denied this.

At Monday's Sharm el-Sheikh summit, Abbas asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to allow the PLO's Badr Brigade, currently stationed in Jordan, to enter the West Bank. That would give Abbas an additional 1,500 troops to help enforce his decrees. Palestinian sources said that Abbas also asked Olmert to release senior Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences in Israel for murdering five Israeli civilians. That could help as well, since Barghouti has influence with the militias.

In other news, an Islamic Jihad operative was killed by Israel Defense Forces troops on Tuesday as they attempted to arrest him. The incident took place in Wadi Burkin, west of Jenin, when the troops surrounded a building in which several Jihad operatives were holed up. Two of the others escaped.