Palestinian President re-assigns Intelligence Chief to appease Hamas

Wednesday October 22, 2008 08:10 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

In a move that Palestinian analysts say is meant to build confidence among supporters of the Islamic movement Hamas, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has reassigned his Chief of Intelligence Tawfiq Tirawi to a position as a Senior Advisor to the President. In addition, Diab al-Ali, the head of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces in the West Bank, will also be re-assigned.

Tawfiq Tirawi

The move comes as tensions are once again on the rise between the two main Palestinian political parties – Hamas, the Islamic Movement that was elected to lead the Palestinian government in 2006, and Fateh, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas had been demanding the resignation of Tiras, after the Fateh intelligence forces headed by Tiras engaged in a months-long campaign of arrests of rival Hamas members. But President Abbas was hesitant to remove the Intelligence Chief, as he did not want to appear to be capitulating to Hamas, said Palestinian analysts familiar with the issue.

A senior official with the Palestinian Authority told the Reuters News Agency, "The intention to remove Tirawi from his job is not new, but the reasons are unclear”, adding, “The news that Tirawi, a very influential man, would be removed, led to tensions and anger within the Intelligence apparatus before the president's decision. But Tirawi urged his men to show restraint.”

With the reassignment of Tirawi to the Senior Advisor position, Abbas is apparently attempting to soothe tensions brought about by the removal of Tirawi from the position of Intelligence Chief.

west bank | palestinian politics | news report saed at imemc dot org