Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: D. Long who wrote (26867)	1/29/2004 4:41:56 AM
From: D. Long	Respond to of 793622

worldtribune.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Palestinians press Arafat to stop crime wave Special to World Tribune.com MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE Monday, January 26, 2004 RAMALLAH – Palestinian legislators have called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to end the wave of crime and corruption in the West Bank. The Palestinian Legislative Council, accusing the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei of failing to ensure national security, has called on Arafat to impose order on the security forces to end the crime wave throughout the West Bank. Legislator said criminals and PA security officers have cooperated in numerous burglaries, car thefts and abductions in such West Bank cities as Bethlehem, Nablus and Ramallah. "They have failed to take steps to ensure national security and the rule of law," a statement by the PLC Political Committee said. The committee said PA police have suspended patrols and suffer from a high rate of absenteeism. The panel said that the result has been a huge increase in violent crime in the West Bank. The PA has about a dozen security agencies that operate in the West Bank. They comprise more than 25,000 officers, including police, anti-riot squad, Preventive Security Apparatus and a range of intelligence agencies. Palestinian sources said police officers, regarded as underpaid, have been moonlighting with the encouragement of their commanders. They said these private jobs range from joining Palestinian insurgency groups such as Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad to cooperating with criminals in an effort to shake down Palestinian merchants and homeowners. The PLC also said the government has failed to implement reforms within the security agencies. One reform, supported by Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, called for salaries to be paid directly to employees of the security agencies, rather than to their commanders. The commanders were said to have been taking a cut of the salaries of their employees. In response, Arafat has ordered his security commanders to establish a joint operations room to improve coordination. A PA statement said Arafat also directed his National Security Council to increase measures to stop those who violate the law. In an unrelated development, Israeli authorities found a briefcase bomb near the West Bank city of Kalkilya. The bomb was said to have been meant for a Fatah suicide strike in Tel Aviv last week.