Arafat Hampered by Police Feud
Already struggling with organizational snags, Yasser Arafat’s embryonic self-rule government took on a new problem Friday--a police feud threatening to tear apart the security apparatus in Jericho and Gaza.
The dispute was just the latest in a long list of financial and security problems that have kept the PLO chairman from setting a date for his move to Jericho, the West Bank town that will be the seat of the Palestinians’ government.
Sources in the Palestine Liberation Organization said the fight involved Gen. Nasr Youssef, overall commander of the new Palestinian police force in the self-rule zones, and Col. Jibril Rajoub, head of a special security unit.
Rajoub refused orders from Youssef, insisting that the security unit answers only to Arafat, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Rajoub’s main duty is to protect Arafat and other top Palestinian leaders when they move to the territories.
The sources said a heated argument between Youssef and Rajoub in Arafat’s presence degenerated into a scuffle, with the men threatening each other Thursday.
Concerned that the problem would lead to a clash in the restive territories, Arafat summoned the central committee of his mainstream Fatah faction to a Thursday night session to map out specific duties for Youssef and Rajoub.
The committee persuaded both men to put their animosity aside and coordinate on security matters through Arafat, the sources said.
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