Palestinian W. Bank Intelligence Chief Quits
"I cannot work under these conditions," Tawfik Tirawi, head
of Palestinian Intelligence in the West Bank, wrote in a letter
of resignation that he gave Abbas after a meeting of security
commanders at the president's headquarters, the officials said.
Tirawi, the most senior security official to resign since
Abbas's election in January, quit a day after half a dozen
gunmen from the ruling Fatah faction fired at the presidential
Muqata compound in Ramallah and then rampaged through the city.
There was no immediate word if Abbas, who officials said
gets along well with Tirawi, would ask him to reconsider.
The officials said Tirawi complained that other heads of
Palestinian security organizations had not done enough to
impose the rule of law Abbas had promised after taking over
from the late Yasser Arafat.
Earlier in the day, Abbas expelled from the Muqata the 26
militants to whom Arafat had given sanctuary at the height of
the 4-1/2-old Palestinian uprising.
The 26, on an Israeli wanted list of 70 members of the
Fatah-affiliated al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, had defied Abbas's
demands to lay down their arms under peace moves he had agreed
with Israel.
The flare-up in Ramallah began after security commanders
met representatives of the 70 earlier in the week to press them
to put aside their weapons.
A spokesman for the 26 said all the gunmen had left the
compound on Abbas's orders and had gone to hiding places in
Ramallah, the West Bank's political and commercial hub.
MILITANTS' DEMANDS
Some of the militants had refused to disarm, saying they
wanted better job and pay guarantees as well as assurances of
their safety, officials said. Israel has pledged to stop
hunting them if they disarm.
Six of the militants vented their anger by carrying out the
shooting spree, the officials said.
"We wanted our voice to be heard," one of the gunmen told
Reuters. "We want our rights and we want protection."
In another sign of lawlessness plaguing the Palestinian
territories, an angry crowd burned down tents used as offices
by Palestinian police in the West Bank town of Tulkarm after
police shot and wounded three suspects.
"Abbas has issued an order to prevent any security
violations and harm to citizens' property," a spokesman from
the Palestinian president said. "Security units have been
deployed to prevent further attacks."
Abbas, elected in January after Arafat's death, is
struggling to impose law and order and reform
corruption-tainted security forces after reaching a cease-fire
deal with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last month.
He has so far used dialogue instead of confrontation in his
dealings with militants.
Abbas has complained some senior Palestinian officials are
blocking his reform efforts and has even suggested he might
have to postpone an expected meeting with President Bush in
April, Fatah officials said. (Additional reporting by Muin
Shadid)
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