Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed with top aides Saturday on "real" reforms in the ruling Fatah movement and to continue a crackdown on armed Palestinian gangs hampering efforts to restore stability to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Abbas emerged from the closing session of three days of meetings of the 16-member Fatah Central Committee -- the first in more than 5 years -- to reiterate that Palestinians were "completely prepared" to take over control of Gaza following Israel's imminent pullout.
A Palestinian takeover will be "quiet, clean and respectful," Abbas told reporters before he embarked on a North African tour that will include stops in Mauritania and Libya.
He said the Fatah members also discussed appointing a vice president but no names were mentioned.
The Fatah meeting took place in Jordan so the largest possible number of committee members could attend, including exiled leaders who refuse to deal with Israel.
Nabil Shaath, a minister of information in the Palestinian Authority, said they agreed on "real reforms, to review the past and to establish new institutions." He said elections would be held in the ruling Fatah faction to allow the "young generation" to take part in the decision making.
He declined to discuss details on the planned reforms but said Palestinians may resort to a law which will scrutinize officials' private finances.
"The law of `where did you get this from,' will be implemented retroactively," he said. He did not say when the law will be enforced but stressed that his government was keen to "uproot corruption."
Separately, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said there was consensus on "regulating armament."
He did not elaborate. Shaath told a news conference later that the reference was to armed Palestinian gangs "who use weapons, not to defend the country, but for blackmailing and killing."
Armed gangs, some affiliated with the mainstream Fatah, rule the streets of the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinian security forces lost control of their streets during four years of Palestinian-Israeli violence.
Shaath said Fatah leaders established a committee to "consolidate dialogue" with different factions, including militant groups like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
"We welcomed the participation of the Palestinian factions in a coalition government to unify the efforts after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza," he said.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, Abbas office confirmed that the Palestinian leader has asked Hamas militants to join his Cabinet to improve prospects of a peaceful takeover of Gaza following Israel's withdrawal. Hamas' West Bank leader, Hassan Yousef, said the group was considering the offer.
He said Fatah leaders also have overcome differences between the Foreign Ministry and the Palestinian Liberation Organization's political office, headed by Farouk Kaddoumi.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
‘TERRORIST ATTACK’: The convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri resulted in the ‘martyrdom of five of our armed forces,’ the Presidential Leadership Council said A blast targeting the convoy of a Saudi Arabian-backed armed group killed five in Yemen’s southern city of Aden and injured the commander of the government-allied unit, officials said on Wednesday. “The treacherous terrorist attack targeting the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri, commander of the Second Giants Brigade, resulted in the martyrdom of five of our armed forces heroes and the injury of three others,” Yemen’s Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council said in a statement published by Yemeni news agency Saba. A security source told reporters that a car bomb on the side of the road in the Ja’awla area in
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
RSS