Pressure on Arafat after his PM quits

GAZA – Palestinian militants attacked a Palestinian security post in Gaza yesterday, stepping up pressure on president Yasser Arafat to stamp out corruption in a crisis deepened by the resignation of his prime minister.

Arafat has not faced such a chorus of local and international demands for change in nearly four years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He refused to accept Ahmed Qurie’s resignation yesterday as premier and named a new Gaza security chief, his relative Moussa Arafat, prompting thousands to march in Gaza against the appointment of a member of an old guard widely seen as corrupt.At a meeting yesterday of the Palestinian National Security Council, Arafat told Qurie he “strongly rejects” his decision to quit, cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.Calls for reform have multiplied amid a brewing factional power struggle in the Gaza Strip in anticipation of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s planned withdrawal of troops and settlers.Sharon said Palestinian in-fighting showed he was right to take unilateral action rather than negotiate with Arafat’s government.”What is happening in the Palestinian Authority proves that all the contrived efforts to show that there is someone to talk to on the Palestinian side are motivated by personal interests and are unrealistic,” an official quoted Sharon as telling his cabinet.In the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, gunmen attacked and burned down a post manned by members of a security service already controlled by Moussa Arafat, sending officers fleeing into the night.Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group within Arafat’s Fatah faction, said it destroyed the facility.”Moussa Arafat’s appointment will not pass, and he must submit his resignation,” the brigades said in a statement.At a news conference after the attack, Moussa Arafat said he had no intention of stepping down.In a new blow to the Palestinian president’s prestige, the commander of the Palestinian coast guard, Juma Ghali, tendered his resignation.Security sources said Ghali was protesting against Moussa Arafat’s appointment and instability in Gaza.Submitting his resignation, Qurie complained about “unprecedented chaos” in Gaza triggered by the brief abduction on Friday of four French aid workers, the police chief and another official by gunmen demanding reforms.Palestinian officials say Arafat’s ability to carry out reforms or rein in militants has been hampered by constant Israeli raids.Israel and the United States accuse Arafat of fomenting violence, which he denies.- Nampa-ReutersHe refused to accept Ahmed Qurie’s resignation yesterday as premier and named a new Gaza security chief, his relative Moussa Arafat, prompting thousands to march in Gaza against the appointment of a member of an old guard widely seen as corrupt.At a meeting yesterday of the Palestinian National Security Council, Arafat told Qurie he “strongly rejects” his decision to quit, cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.Calls for reform have multiplied amid a brewing factional power struggle in the Gaza Strip in anticipation of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s planned withdrawal of troops and settlers.Sharon said Palestinian in-fighting showed he was right to take unilateral action rather than negotiate with Arafat’s government.”What is happening in the Palestinian Authority proves that all the contrived efforts to show that there is someone to talk to on the Palestinian side are motivated by personal interests and are unrealistic,” an official quoted Sharon as telling his cabinet.In the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, gunmen attacked and burned down a post manned by members of a security service already controlled by Moussa Arafat, sending officers fleeing into the night.Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group within Arafat’s Fatah faction, said it destroyed the facility.”Moussa Arafat’s appointment will not pass, and he must submit his resignation,” the brigades said in a statement.At a news conference after the attack, Moussa Arafat said he had no intention of stepping down.In a new blow to the Palestinian president’s prestige, the commander of the Palestinian coast guard, Juma Ghali, tendered his resignation.Security sources said Ghali was protesting against Moussa Arafat’s appointment and instability in Gaza.Submitting his resignation, Qurie complained about “unprecedented chaos” in Gaza triggered by the brief abduction on Friday of four French aid workers, the police chief and another official by gunmen demanding reforms.Palestinian officials say Arafat’s ability to carry out reforms or rein in militants has been hampered by constant Israeli raids.Israel and the United States accuse Arafat of fomenting violence, which he denies.- Nampa-Reuters