(Nativ-Ariel Center for Policy Research) Gal Luft - The Preventive Security Forces (PSF) is a plainclothes security force with close to 5,000 agents, the largest of the PA's intelligence forces. Until the current violence in 2000, this body was involved in preventive actions against terrorist and opposition groups. PSF leaders prior to the hostilities were Jibril Rajub in the West Bank and Muhammad Dahlan in Gaza. During the heyday of the peace process, they worked in close cooperation with the Israeli security forces, especially in the fields of counter-terrorism and crime prevention. In the second intifada, the PSF, especially in Gaza, became an active participant in the fighting. PSF headquarters in Gaza became the main center for manufacturing weapons and a safe haven for terrorists planning attacks. These weapons were handed out freely to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah. Dahlan's deputy, Rashid Abu-Shabak, was personally involved in the November 2000 attack on a school bus in Kfar Darom, and is the driving force behind Palestinian production of mortars and rockets. PSF members in the West Bank have also been involved in planning, executing, and backing terror attacks. Both Rajub and Dahlan were forced to step down in July 2002 due to personal tension with Arafat. Rajub was replaced by Zuheir Manasra, but PSF members refuse to obey his orders. Instead, they submit to Rajub's deputy, Colonel Bashir Nafe.
2005-01-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive