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Mofaz and Dahlan at a 2004 meeting. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners April 22, 2005 |
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| Palestinians perform a training exercise for the terrorist group. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. (AP) |
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Palestinian Authority Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan today promised Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz that the Palestinians will fulfill their responsibility to gain control of the West Bank cities Israel already handed over to the PA in recent months, Tulkarm and Jericho.
Dahlan stated that part of achieving that goal would entail confiscating weapons from wanted suspects. "We'll collect weapons," he said, adding that the PA intends to carry out all the commitments PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas made to Israel.
In the meantime, recent reports suggests that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas -- who since being sworn in on January 15 has been slow to throw out corrupt politicians, or tame gunmen who have terrorized Palestinians with theft and extortion -- may be in jeopardy due to growing Palestinian discontent, which could eventually cost him his job, or at the least force him to accept Islamic Hamas as a partner in government.
Hamas -- the manifesto of which calls for the destruction of Israel -- will challenge Abbas' Fatah movement in the July 17 parliamentary elections and is already succeeding to score points by promising clean government. It also benefits from a perception that Fatah, which has controlled Palestinian politics since the 1960s, is arrogant and corrupt.
The word on the street may support the legitimacy of this trend. "I'm voting for Hamas," said an angry Ahmed Kishta, 46, a lifelong Fatah loyalist, from his home in the Rafah refugee camp. Kishta once owned a small brick factory and now survives on Hamas' food handouts.
In recent weeks, the Israeli government has also criticized PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for not doing enough to combat terror. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon even raised the issue during his Washington meeting with US President George W. Bush.
Government sources in Washington add that no one in the Authority wants to take responsibility for reigning in terrorists right before the Palestinian parliamentary elections. "Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) is weak and can't deliver the goods," said the source.
Hanan Greenberg and Attila Somfalvi contributed to this report.
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