Arafat Foe Could Be Named to Palestinian Security Post
A commander who has quarreled with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat may be tapped to head all of the Palestinian security forces as incoming Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas starts to assemble his Cabinet, officials say.
Palestinian sources speaking on condition of anonymity said Abbas met with Mohammed Dahlan, former Gaza Strip security chief, and is considering naming him interior minister.
Abbas, picked as prime minister after Arafat gave in to intense international and local pressure to reform his regime, met Saturday with leaders of the Fatah movement and began consultations about picking a new Cabinet.
Arafat is the leader of Fatah; Abbas is his deputy.
Dahlan resigned his powerful post in Gaza in a dispute with Arafat and is seen as a close ally of Abbas. If he is named interior minister, he would replace Hani Hassan, a longtime Arafat aide.
About 15 Israeli tanks moved into Palestinian territory in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinians said. A Palestinian policeman was wounded, they said.
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