(Ha'aretz) Arnon Regular - PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he intends to transfer broad security powers to the future Hamas government, including the national defense branch, preventive security, and the civilian police. In an interview with Al-Jazeera television in Qatar earlier this week, Abbas said that the only security branch which would not be subject to the government would be General Intelligence, headed by Tawfik A-Tirawi. "We'll grant Hamas authority over the Palestinians' national security because we need to have one body controlling the situation to ensure security. I don't intend to deprive Hamas of what I demanded in the past from Yasser Arafat," he said.
2006-03-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive