PALESTINIAN FACTIONS SEEK TO FORM ARMY
GAZA CITY — Palestinian militias, on the basis of a recommendation
by neighboring Egypt, have agreed to form an army.
Palestinian Authority officials said Egypt has offered to help in the
formation of a Palestinian army that would bolster national unity. They said
Hamas and other Palestinian militias have agreed to the proposal as a way to
end the militia war in the Gaza Strip.
"We support changing the security establishment," Hamas spokesman Fawzi
Barhoum said. "We have long called for the establishment of a new, improved
security framework."
[On Tuesday, U.S. President George Bush approved $86 million for
Palestinian Authority security services. Officials said the U.S. funding
would target security agencies loyal to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.]
PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahhar said Egypt proposed the formation of
a national army during Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks in January. Zahar
said the Egyptian proposal called for the army to recruit Palestinians from
all factions. In 2006, Hamas launched plans to form a 10,000-man army.
On Tuesday, Fatah and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
after the death of 34 people in clashes since Jan. 25. A Hamas commander was
killed in an attack in Gaza City by the Fatah-aligned Preventive Security
Apparatus.
Fatah has welcomed the Egyptian proposal of a Palestinian army that
would unite the factions. The movement, loyal to Abbas, said this would
require the dismantling of Hamas-controlled agencies.
"We are calling on everybody to unite their efforts for the security
bodies to be under one leadership, no matter who the leadership is," Fatah
spokesman Jamal Nazzal said. "What is important is to have one security
body."
Nazzal said Fatah has sought the transfer of the Interior Ministry's
Executive Force into other security services of the PA. He said that unlike
the EF, the other PA security forces were established on a national basis.
"The security services have paid a heavy price for a commitment to
protect their homeland's security, and interests against the abusers who
pulled out the keys to both peace and war from the hands of the elected
authority," Nazzal said. "Instead, they committed themselves to an Islamic
state which doesn't even recognize Palestine."
