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 | | From: | AP | | Subject: | Abbas Orders Forces to Prevent Attacks | | Date: | Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:10:43 EST |
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*Associated Press/AP Online
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas,
under growing pressure to rein in militants, ordered his security
forces Monday to prevent attacks on Israel and investigate a deadly
shooting of Israeli civilians last week.
But Palestinian security officials were short on details
about possible actions against armed groups, and a spokesman for
Hamas said his extremist group would continue attacks.
The order by Abbas, approved by his Cabinet, was the
Palestinian leadership's first step against militants since six
Israelis were slain Thursday at the Karni crossing between Israel
and the Gaza Strip.
"A decision was taken that we will handle our
obligation to stop violence against Israelis anywhere," Cabinet
minister Saeb Erekat said.
While Israel's government cautiously welcomed the
announcement, it remained unclear how far Abbas was willing to go.
He has insisted he will use persuasion, not force, to get militants
to halt violence.
Palestinian ministers said Abbas planned to travel to Gaza
on Tuesday, a day earlier than initially planned, for talks with two
militant groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Abbas' victory in the Jan. 9 election for president of the
Palestinian Authority raised hopes for a breakthrough in Mideast
peacemaking because he has been an outspoken critic of violence and
is eager to resume negotiations with Israel.
But the Karni attack, two days before Abbas was sworn in,
swept away Israeli goodwill, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
suspended contacts with Abbas.
Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Abbas in a phone call
Sunday to rein in the armed groups, Palestinian and U.S. officials
said. Powell "emphasized the critical need to take action to
stop Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets," U.S. Consulate
spokesman Chuck Hunter said.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed regret Monday at
the suspension of contacts.
"We were all hopeful that there was a new opening, a
new opportunity that should be exploited to re-energize the
process," he said. "And we are all going to do whatever we
can with both sides to get the process back on track and to give the
new Palestinian Authority as much help as we can with its own reform
process, and particularly the restructuring of the security
forces."
Israel wants Abbas to overhaul the Palestinians' numerous
security agencies and put them under a central authority, accusing
the security forces of permitting violence and even collaborating
with attackers. Israeli officials say they have indications the
gunmen who attacked the Karni crossing left from a Palestinian
Authority base.
Israeli soldiers raided several areas in Gaza over the
weekend to halt rocket fire on Israeli settlements and border towns,
withdrawing early Monday after clashes that killed 16 Palestinians,
including seven civilians.
Israel decided to hold off on a major military offensive in
Gaza to give Abbas more time to act against militants, a senior
government official said Monday.
During Monday's Cabinet meeting, the Palestinian ministers
instructed the Preventive Security Service, which controls the
Palestinian side of crossings into Israel, to investigate the Karni
attack. Three militant groups, including Hamas and the Al Aqsa
Martyrs' Brigades, which has ties to Abbas' ruling Fatah movement,
claimed responsibility for the attack.
Raanan Gissin, a Sharon aide, called the Cabinet decision a
"small step in the right direction."
"Now we have to see how it happens on the ground, based
on things that were said," he added.
Abbas will face a difficult task on his visit to Gaza. Hamas
enjoys widespread support in the volatile area, and Hamas spokesman
Mushir al-Masri said the group would not comply with the order to
halt attacks.
"We consider resistance as a red line, and no one is
allowed to cross this line," al-Masri said.
However, Hamas leaders have said they would consider halting
attacks if Israel stops military operations.
Since Sharon announced plans to withdraw from Gaza this
summer, the area has seen an upsurge in violence, with militants
trying to make it look like Israel is retreating under fire.
On Monday, hundreds of people in the Israeli border town of
Sderot packed a municipal square to protest the government's failure
to stop repeated Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.
Four residents have died in rocket attacks, and a teenage
girl was critically wounded last weekend. Two more rockets fell on
the town's outskirts Monday, but caused no injuries or damage.
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