Abbas to head new security council
Abbas to head new security council, with Haniya of rival Hamas group as deputy
Ramallah, West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday issued a decree announcing the formation of a new national security council, responsible for overseeing a plan to restore law and order in the chaotic Palestinian areas, officials said.
Officials in Abbas' office said he would lead the council, with Prime Minister Esmail Haniya of the rival Hamas group serving as his deputy.
The decree came a day after the Palestinian Cabinet approved a new security plan that calls for a joint
operations room overseeing rival security forces and appeals to gunmen not to flaunt their weapons in public.
The plan is to be the centerpiece of cooperation between the Islamic militants of Hamas and members of Abbas' Fatah movement. Details of the plan remain sketchy, particularly on whether Hamas' year-old militia would be dissolved.
Creation of the militia, known as the Executive Force, intensified factional tensions and helped trigger months of deadly clashes between Hamas and Fatah-allied security forces.
Hamas and Fatah agreed on a coalition government last month seeking to restore calm. But the most explosive issue - control over security forces - was not resolved, and it remains unclear whether the new security plan is specific enough to end the rivalries.
Abbas' office said three independent Cabinet ministers - Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr, Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, and Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh - would be on the security council, as will Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a senior Fatah official.
