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Abu Mazen Is Losing Strength and Stamina

(Ha'aretz) Arnon Regular - An increasingly organized effort to undermine Palestinian chairman Mahmoud Abbas' authority reached a peak on Wednesday when some 20 men wanted by Israel opened fire on the PA's Ramallah headquarters, and vandalized several high-class restaurants in the city that are patronized by senior PA officials. On Thursday a temporary police station in Tulkarm was torched, armed men marched in Jenin and Nablus, and cars belonging to candidates running for local office in Gaza were bombed. Almost three months after taking office, it has become clear that Abbas' influence over the armed men, the security services, and the leaders of Fatah's institutions is virtually nonexistent. The gap between his exalted international standing and his ability to impose his authority at home is growing, and it is not clear what will remain of his promises to reform the PA and provide personal security to ordinary Palestinians. The key problem is his inability to forge political alliances and to win the allegiance of the heads of the security services and of Fatah's younger generation. Not one security chief has been fired. The plan to unify the security service is going nowhere, as is a plan to pension off veteran but ineffective officers. "Abu Mazen lacks the strength and stamina to stand his ground," the head of one of the Gaza security services said Thursday.
2005-04-01 00:00:00
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