Palestinian Authority’s (PA) forces began Thursday deployment throughout the streets of Gaza upon orders by President Mahmoud Abbas, higher commander of the Palestinian security forces.
Joint forces, comprised of those loyal to president Abbas and others loyal to the interior minister, Hani Alqawasmi, belonging to Hamas, lined up in streets within a long-waited security campaign to restore order to the unruly region.
After midnight yesterday, policemen were seen stopping and inspecting cars, while security officials said deployment of the forces will be completed in 48 hours.
President Abbas ordered all the security forces to implement the plan and refer to the interior minister directly.
Nabil Sh’a at, an aide to Abbas, said that deployment of the forces was a part of an agreement between the president and the prime minister, Ismail Haniya, late on yesterday night.
Abbas-Haniya meeting came after minister Al-qawasmi had submitted resignation over ‘lack of cooperation among the security officials’.
Approximately 400 Palestinians have been killed over the past year as security lapses, lawlessness, factional and family infighting have rocked the Palestinian territories.
Disorder in the territories has been concurrent with a crippling internationally-imposed economic embargo on the Palestinian Authority after a Hamas-led government has been installed in last January’s parliamentary elections.
