Why Abbas is shaking up Palestinian security services
Expected appointments and replacements within the Palestinian security services may not pass without the blessing of Israel and the United States.
The Palestinian arena has of lately witnessed successive events, beginning with the resignation of the Palestinian government on Jan. 29, the start of consultations to form a new government, the leaks in late January that the US administration's Mideast peace plan would be announced soon, and the announcement by the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Feb. 10 that international institutions have responded to a US request for a financial blockade on the PA.
In addition, the Israeli government carries on with its settlement projects after it approved in January the construction of 2,500 settlement units in the West Bank and Jerusalem settlements. Also in January, the Israeli army continued its incursions into West Bank cities on the pretext of pursuing Palestinian militants.
Meanwhile, reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas reached an impasse after the PA withdrew its employees from the Rafah crossing on Jan. 8.
Amid these developments, informed Palestinian sources told Sama News on condition of anonymity on Feb. 4 about major changes in the leadership of the security services. The report said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will make some appointments, which may include designating head of the intelligence apparatus Zakaria Mosleh as head of the Preventive Security Service, instead of Ziad Hab al-Rih, who may be appointed as an adviser to Abbas for province affairs.
