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Cutting Palestinian Forces Poses Challenge

[Reuters] Adam Entous and Wafa Amr - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has begun to act on a plan to shrink the security forces by about a third - from 83,000 to about 50,000 - a move that may fuel tensions in the PA. Diplomats said the goals of the Western-backed plan were to save money and produce a smaller, more tightly controlled force - a better armed and trained gendarmerie that can both police civilians and prevent heavily armed militant groups from jeopardizing peace agreements with Israel. But overhauling the security forces could place Fayyad, an independent technocrat, on a collision course with Fatah's powerful old-guard. To cushion the blow, he is drawing up plans for generous incentives to retire. But it is unclear how much support Fayyad has within Fatah.
2007-10-26 01:00:00
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