lennart
04-07-03, 00:08
Shots fired near Abbas's home following arrest of militants
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Reuters
Palestinians fired shots in the air near the home
of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen) and near the offices of Security
Minister Mohammed Dahlan as well as near the
offices of Gaza's head of preventive security
force Rashid Abu Shabak, following the PA's
arrests of militants charged with firing mortar
bombs on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip,
Israel radio reported late Thursday.
A spokesman for the Palestinian
Popular Resistance Committees
(PRC), a coalition of
militants, told Reuters
Palestinian police arrested two
members in Khan Yunis refugee
camp in the southern Gaza Strip
on Wednesday and three leaders
on Thursday afternoon in Gaza
City.
A Palestinian security official confirmed the
arrests saying the PA was committed to
punishing violators of a cease-fire accepted by
the leadership of the three most important
Palestinian militant groups.
The PRC spokesman said the group was an
independent body whose members had left other
factions which accepted the cease-fire on
Sunday. "Their connection to these groups
(Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah) ended when
they joined the Popular Resistance Committees,"
he said.
Dozens of PRC members marched in Gaza City at
nightfall, some firing rifles in the air,
demanding the release of the arrested men. A
statement issued by Fatah late on Thursday
called on its members to stand by the truce.
A military court on Thursday freed a top
Palestinian security official, along with
another 52 detainees who had been arrested last
week during IDF operations in the West Bank
city of Hebron.
Israel also announced it would halt legal moves
to expel close family members of suicide
bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
The decision to suspend the expulsion efforts
was made following the transfer of security
control in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians,
which went into effect Sunday. A similar
handover took place in Bethlehem on Wednesday.
Colonel Suleiman Abu Mutlak, one of the top
three officers in the Gaza Strip security
services, was released by a military court on
the grounds that the prosecution had been
unable to provide sufficient evidence against
him.
He was arrested at the beginning of May on
suspicion of involvement in an attack on a bus
in the area of the Gaza settlement of Kfar
Darom in November 2000, in which two Israelis
were killed.
Palestinian security sources said that Abu
Mutlak, who has close links to Palestinian
Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan, had been
released from detention in southern Israel and
allowed to cross the Erez checkpoint into
Gaza.
Minister for Prisoner Affairs Hisham Abdel Razeq
said Thursday that Israel had failed to charge
Abu Mutlak and his release was not part of any
peace deal.
Israel, which is holding 1,000 Palestinian
administrative detainees, released 33
prisoners, all of whom were detained last week
in a round of suspected terrorists in the West
Bank city of Hebron.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said more
will be released next week as a gesture of
goodwill toward Abbas, Army Radio reported.
But the releases come amid growing
disenchantment amongst government ministers,
who were angered by the fact they had initially
been informed that no more security prisoners
would be released until the government had
discussed the matter Sunday, but were then told
that more were to be released Thursday.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office explained
that the releases Wednesday and Thursday were
not part of any confidence-building measures,
but had either completed their terms or there
was no longer any reason to hold them.
The sources also said that Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz is expected to meet with Dahlan
next Monday and that Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon will meet Tuesday with Abbas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/313947.html
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Reuters
Palestinians fired shots in the air near the home
of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas (Abu Mazen) and near the offices of Security
Minister Mohammed Dahlan as well as near the
offices of Gaza's head of preventive security
force Rashid Abu Shabak, following the PA's
arrests of militants charged with firing mortar
bombs on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip,
Israel radio reported late Thursday.
A spokesman for the Palestinian
Popular Resistance Committees
(PRC), a coalition of
militants, told Reuters
Palestinian police arrested two
members in Khan Yunis refugee
camp in the southern Gaza Strip
on Wednesday and three leaders
on Thursday afternoon in Gaza
City.
A Palestinian security official confirmed the
arrests saying the PA was committed to
punishing violators of a cease-fire accepted by
the leadership of the three most important
Palestinian militant groups.
The PRC spokesman said the group was an
independent body whose members had left other
factions which accepted the cease-fire on
Sunday. "Their connection to these groups
(Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah) ended when
they joined the Popular Resistance Committees,"
he said.
Dozens of PRC members marched in Gaza City at
nightfall, some firing rifles in the air,
demanding the release of the arrested men. A
statement issued by Fatah late on Thursday
called on its members to stand by the truce.
A military court on Thursday freed a top
Palestinian security official, along with
another 52 detainees who had been arrested last
week during IDF operations in the West Bank
city of Hebron.
Israel also announced it would halt legal moves
to expel close family members of suicide
bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip.
The decision to suspend the expulsion efforts
was made following the transfer of security
control in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians,
which went into effect Sunday. A similar
handover took place in Bethlehem on Wednesday.
Colonel Suleiman Abu Mutlak, one of the top
three officers in the Gaza Strip security
services, was released by a military court on
the grounds that the prosecution had been
unable to provide sufficient evidence against
him.
He was arrested at the beginning of May on
suspicion of involvement in an attack on a bus
in the area of the Gaza settlement of Kfar
Darom in November 2000, in which two Israelis
were killed.
Palestinian security sources said that Abu
Mutlak, who has close links to Palestinian
Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan, had been
released from detention in southern Israel and
allowed to cross the Erez checkpoint into
Gaza.
Minister for Prisoner Affairs Hisham Abdel Razeq
said Thursday that Israel had failed to charge
Abu Mutlak and his release was not part of any
peace deal.
Israel, which is holding 1,000 Palestinian
administrative detainees, released 33
prisoners, all of whom were detained last week
in a round of suspected terrorists in the West
Bank city of Hebron.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said more
will be released next week as a gesture of
goodwill toward Abbas, Army Radio reported.
But the releases come amid growing
disenchantment amongst government ministers,
who were angered by the fact they had initially
been informed that no more security prisoners
would be released until the government had
discussed the matter Sunday, but were then told
that more were to be released Thursday.
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office explained
that the releases Wednesday and Thursday were
not part of any confidence-building measures,
but had either completed their terms or there
was no longer any reason to hold them.
The sources also said that Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz is expected to meet with Dahlan
next Monday and that Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon will meet Tuesday with Abbas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/313947.html