Last update - 02:43 28/01/2004
The reign of the thugs
How do you change chaos into order? The Palestinians haven't
succeeded. Under the powers handed over by Chairman Arafat, the
Interior Ministry became responsible solely for civil issues and no
longer for security. The National Security Council, headed by Chairman
Arafat, will neither manage to direct the security issues, nor to
control the corrupted and distorted situation in Palestinian society.
The Palestinian people need more security and this is becoming an
encumbrance to the Palestinian government. The Palestinian people need
external forces to keep them safe and secure. The Palestinian people
need a government in which all ministers function as ministers of the
interior to dictate and supervise the security issues in the
Palestinian territories.
The government of Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala), unable to separate the civil
issues from the security ones, became ineffectual and lost its
credibility among the general public.
It is obvious to the whole world that both the Palestinian people and
the Palestinian government have been unable to control the security
issues in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authority needs
a Ministry of Interior with clear missions and functions.
There is someone called an interior minister, who has lost his
function, mission and jurisdiction. His loss of powers caused the
downfall of the government of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and is leading
to the obliteration of Abu Ala's as well. What does this mean?
Chairman Arafat issued a decree appointing Hakam Balaawi to be the
interior minister of the Palestinian Authority.
We all know that there are several gunmen who threaten and spread fear
among the Palestinians. Last October 22, Ghaleb al-Faroukh, 46, a
Palestinian civilian was killed by two Palestinian gunmen, while he
was on his way to Sa'ir in Hebron to shop. On the following day, Majid
Zein, 46, another Palestinian civilian was also killed by three gunmen
in the same area, and on October 28, another Palestinian civilian
called Fakhri el-Masri was gunned down and killed by two Palestinians
in Salfit near Nablus.
The question is what Palestinian interior minister would be daring
enough to punish those responsible? Would the Palestinian interior
minister be killed if he imposed a penalty upon them?
In Tul Karm, the Al-Aqsa Brigades direct and manage the city's civil
and security life. They threaten, beat and kill. On October 23, 12
unemployed gunmen who joined the Al-Aqsa Brigades killed Mohammed
Hilal, 22, and Samer Ofeh, 23, in the street because they were
so-called collaborators.
Nablus is ruled by two armed illiterate thugs. These two people are
feared by the population and control the civil life of the city.
This is an example of a further unacceptable situation where a city is
governed by ignorant people who are experts only in spreading fear
among civilians. Thus, the question is, who will be the loyal watchman
of the Palestinians' welfare?
The emergency government completely disregarded the security and
safety issues of the Palestinian people. They neglected security
issues and ignored the political, social and economic issues. The
explosion that targeted the American convoy in Gaza on October 15 was
a red light to the Palestinian people to reconstruct the security
system. Who can reconstruct it now, and who can control the thugs that
violate the security system?
It is not a source of shame for the Palestinians to admit that they
have lost hope. The Palestinians seek security and comfort just like
any other people. In the framework of the international defense being
sought by the Palestinians, I recommend that the Palestinian
government call upon the governments of Jordan, Egypt and perhaps
Turkey to assist by sending their security forces to restore order in
the Palestinian territories and to put an end to attacks against
Palestinian citizens.
The writer is the founder and the director of the Palestinian Human
Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), based in East Jerusalem. |