Palestinian Abbas forces amassing arms -sources
Pastor Dale Morgan
Palestinian Abbas forces amassing arms -sources*
28 Jan 2007 16:14:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Adam Entous and Haitham Tamimi
JERUSALEM, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's
security advisers have been amassing weapons in Gaza and the West Bank
to build up a wider range of forces than just the presidential guard,
Palestinian security sources said.
The sources said several thousand assault rifles and other weapons have
been set aside in storehouses for members of Preventive Security and
other services that are dominated by Abbas's Fatah faction and are
locked in an increasingly violent power struggle with the ruling Hamas
movement.
Previous arms shipments were earmarked solely for Abbas's presidential
guard with U.S. and Israeli backing. Up to $170 million, including U.S.
funds and Palestinian tax revenues released by Israel, will provide
training, equipment and other support to the guard, according to U.S.
and Israeli officials.
Palestinian sources did not disclose the source of the weapons or when
they arrived in the Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian security sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said Abbas has yet to authorise distribution of the assault rifles in
storage to the other security forces.
But Hamas officials say forces loyal to Abbas appeared to be better
equipped during clashes at the weekend across the Gaza Strip. At least
13 Hamas members have been killed in the fighting since Friday, versus
five from Fatah. In most previous flare-ups, Fatah suffered heavier
losses than Hamas.
Violence between the factions has increased sharply in the last month
since unity government talks broke down and Abbas called for new
elections. Islamist Hamas beat secular Fatah in parliamentary elections
a year ago. Hamas says holding another vote would amount to a coup.
The senior Palestinian security sources said between 3,900 and 4,900
Kalashnikovs and M-16 rifles and other weapons were being stored in the
West Bank city of Jericho and in Gaza for Preventive Security as well as
Abbas's National Security and General Intelligence services.
Several previous shipments of guns, ammunition and other lethal
equipment were delivered to Abbas's presidential guard from U.S. allies
Egypt and Jordan with Israeli permission.
A senior Israeli official said Israel was unaware of any weapons going
to forces beyond the presidential guard.
U.S. ASSISTANCE
Of the $100 million in Palestinian tax revenues that Israel transferred
to Abbas's office earlier this month, $85 million will go towards a
U.S.-led programme to bolster the guard, said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman
for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Washington plans to use $86 million of its own money in coming months to
provide the presidential guard with training and non-lethal equipment,
officials said.
Though its leaders are seen as loyal to Fatah, Preventive Security is
not eligible for direct U.S. assistance because it technically falls
under the jurisdiction of the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.
Western officials said Abbas's military build-up was meant to counter
strides by Hamas in smuggling more powerful weapons into Gaza for its
fast-growing "Executive Force" and armed wing, known as the Izz el-Deen
al-Qassam Brigades.
The West Bank is dominated by Fatah but the group fears Hamas is
secretly training forces there. Of the new weapons for Abbas's wider
forces, 3,000 have been earmarked for the occupied West Bank,
Palestinian security sources said.
Some analysts have warned that fighting between Hamas and Fatah could
turn into a proxy war, with the United States supporting Abbas and Iran
backing Hamas.
But David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said
the security aid was "defensive" and that the goal was to avoid a
situation in which "Hamas believes it can swallow or even intimidate
non-Hamas forces and take over Gaza".
Western diplomats say Hamas appeared to have a military edge in any
prolonged fight with Fatah for control of Gaza.
First deployed by the Hamas-led government in the narrow coastal strip
in May, Hamas says its "Executive Force" has grown from an estimated
3,000 members to nearly 6,000.
With U.S. support in the coming months, Abbas's presidential guard is
expected to expand from 4,000 to 4,700 men. Palestinian officials say
the force could eventually grow to 10,000 members.
Preventive Security and Abbas's General Intelligence service have about
6,000 members each. The National Security forces have up to 40,000
members in total.
The United States and Israel have also backed a proposal by Abbas to let
about 1,000 members of the so-called Badr Brigade, a Fatah-dominated
force based in Jordan, into the Palestinian territories, though no date
has been set. (Additional reporting by Wael al-Ahmed in Jenin and Nidal
al-Mughrabi in Gaza)