Senior Palestinian figures criticised in report

MIDDLE EAST:Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas promised reform yesterday after an internal investigation castigated senior officials responsible for the defeat of Fatah-dominated security forces by Hamas during clashes in Gaza in June.

Presidential aide Nabil Amr said these bodies were weakened by nepotism and inducting recruits motivated by unemployment rather than commitment to order. He revealed that "misleading information was given to the [ political] leadership", giving the impression that Hamas could be routed; there "was no field command" because senior officers were not in Gaza; Hamas had "infiltrated" security bodies; and orders to pre-empt a coup had not been implemented.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri retorted by saying the report confirmed the movement's accusation that Palestinian security services were riddled with corruption. He observed: "President Abbas should admit his responsibility before the Palestinian people because he is the commander-in-chief of the security services."

Mr Abbas pledged to seriously consider the 200-page report and implement its recommendations. The document, produced by a nine-member panel, revealed that 60 military service personnel had been interrogated and the actions scrutinised of Muhammad Dahlan (the president's security adviser who resigned on Thursday), Tawfik Tiraqi (West Bank intelligence chief) and Rashid Abu Shabak (Gaza security head). But these three figures are not expected to face courts martial along with officers up to the rank of brigadier in spite of popular pressure to make them accountable.

As a result, Palestinian sources dismiss Mr Amr's assertion that the leadership will draw "lessons from this experience and [ make] it a true first step toward real reform". The problem with the report is that it deals only with the causes of the Gaza defeat rather than the need for thorough reform of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, both headed by Mr Abbas. Legislators have been demanding an end to nepotism and corruption and the introduction of accountability and transparency since mid-1996, six months after the authority was created. The lack of reform led to Fatah's defeat by Hamas in the 2006 election.

In despair over Fatah's refusal to change, politicians and busi- nessmen are calling for an alternative to Fatah and Hamas.

While left-wing parties want to create a reform front, centrists seek to transform the Third Way group, created in 2006 by Premier Salam Fayyad, into a broader political party.

Jamal Zakur, a confidant of Mr Fayyad, said, "This movement would be based on liberal ideas and advancing democracy and human rights. If we are going to have elections, then a new movement is needed. At the moment, there are hundreds of people from the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem and even overseas who support the initiative. Fatah in its current state cannot lead a true reform process."

While the transformation is made, sources believe the US and Europe may press for Mr Fayyad, a Texas-educated former World Bank official, to assume greater powers, sidelining Mr Abbas, who has lost credibility due to his failure to achieve a settlement or initiate wide-ranging reforms.