Arafat Expresses Confidence in Government Despite Unrest

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denied Saturday that his government was in crisis, even as fresh unrest in the Gaza Strip added to the turmoil.

In one incident Saturday, unknown arsonists set fire to a police station in a neighborhood south of Gaza City, and in another, militants temporarily took over a municipal government building.

Meanwhile, in his first public comments during more than a week of tumult, Arafat told reporters that he had confidence in the continued leadership of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, who submitted his resignation July 17, only to have Arafat reject it.

The Palestinian Authority president, speaking briefly at his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, denied blocking governmental reforms -- particularly of the security forces -- and declared that Korei had full authority to make the changes he desired.

“The prime minister has the full right to propose anything he wants, and whatever is suitable for him. I will support whatever he decides. I highly and fully trust him,” Arafat said, according to Associated Press.

In submitting his resignation, Korei cited rising lawlessness in the streets of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He reportedly has been frustrated by his powerlessness to reform the police and military forces, which have been under Arafat’s direct control.

Arafat has been under international pressure to reform the security forces. He agreed last week to streamline an often-confusing structure by consolidating a dozen overlapping agencies into three branches.

Korei also has sought to shift more authority to the Cabinet -- a move Arafat has resisted.

The standoff over the resignation has left the Palestinian government in confusion. Korei said that although he stood by his resignation, he would remain prime minister in a caretaker capacity.

Arafat has faced additional challenges to his authority, including a resolution by the Palestinian parliament calling on him to make reforms and cede more authority to the prime minister and Cabinet.

In addition, violent protests broke out in Gaza within Arafat’s Fatah movement over his decision to appoint his cousin as security chief there. The protests have highlighted a power struggle, focusing long-brewing discontent among younger Fatah members over misrule and cronyism within the Palestinian Authority.

Seeking to damp the protests over Moussa Arafat, Yasser Arafat named a military general to oversee the security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in effect adding a layer of authority above his unpopular cousin.

But there was fresh disruption Saturday as about 50 militants belonging to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took over the municipal government building in the city of Khan Yunis to protest the firings of about 10 of the group’s members from security posts. The men also demanded that Moussa Arafat resign as security chief.

The militants agreed to end the standoff a few hours later after gaining assurances that officials would discuss the firings in hopes of resolving the dispute.

In the police station fire, the first floor of the structure was destroyed. Officials said arsonists poured gasoline inside the building before setting it ablaze.

No one claimed responsibility.

Last week, militants set fire to one government building and briefly stormed another in anger over Moussa Arafat’s appointment. Both structures belonged to the military intelligence security force that he headed before being named overall security chief in the Gaza Strip.