Lawlessness Has Abbas Going After the Law

The gunmen who shot up Osama Khalaf’s restaurant appear also to have jarred the new Palestinian leadership into more forceful actions to bring order to the streets.

Since Wednesday night’s shooting attack, during which up to a dozen men opened fire in the fashionable Darna restaurant and sent customers diving for cover, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has sacked a top security commander and signed a law to push officers 60 and older into retirement to clear the way for an overhaul of Palestinian forces.

Abbas also assigned Palestinian officials to figure out how to disarm hundreds of fugitive militants sought by Israel and get them jobs in Palestinian security. At least some of the gunmen behind last week’s attack on Darna and two other Ramallah restaurants belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a fighting force tied to Abbas’ dominant Fatah movement.

Spokesmen for the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad said Monday that they would not disarm, and members of Al Aqsa appeared divided, Reuters reported. Getting the fugitives to disarm would first require a promise by Israel not to try to arrest the men, Palestinian officials said.

Though well short of the sweeping security reforms sought by Israel, the United States and others, Abbas’ recent measures signal a newly aggressive stance against what many Palestinians see as a climate of growing lawlessness.

Much of the disorder has come at the hands of gunmen nurtured by Abbas’ predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who died in November. Last week’s shootings took place after gunmen wanted by Israel were ordered out of the Palestinian presidential compound here in Ramallah, where they had taken shelter while Arafat was alive. They first opened fire on the compound, known as the Muqata, then rampaged through Ramallah’s streets.

Since taking office in January, Abbas has sought to avoid confronting the militants. He has instead opted to persuade them to quiet their weapons, as when the major factions agreed last month to an open-ended, conditional cease-fire against Israel.

The shooting incidents in Ramallah, Abbas’ home and the seat of the Palestinian government, stunned residents.

Darna was known to be frequented by Palestinian Authority officials. Khalaf, the general manager, said a caller told him the next day that the shooting was intended to send a message to the government.

Abbas quickly deployed extra police. By Friday, he had fired the Ramallah police commander and a day later forced the resignation of the security commander for the West Bank, Ismail Jaber, a powerful figure.

On Monday, a tractor was dismantling the battle-scarred building in the Muqata that had provided haven for the gunmen.

“This incident has been used as a launching pad and evidence so that no one can say, ‘We want to wait,’ ” said Azmi Shueibi, who chairs the economics committee of the Palestinian parliament.

Shueibi’s panel summoned the interior minister, Nasser Yousef, on Monday to discuss the risks of damage to the already flimsy Palestinian economy if the government does not act soon to establish the rule of law.

“We can’t speak about any investment in Palestine, or any reform in the economic condition, if the security condition continues as it is,” Shueibi said after the committee meeting.

Nabil Amr, a Fatah lawmaker close to Abbas, said the Palestinian leadership was determined to enact security reforms and rein in armed militants who often act as street gangs.

But Amr said there were bound to be problems during the transition after the long reign of Arafat, who alone controlled a mishmash of security forces that have at times clashed with each other.

“This is a crucial period between the Arafat period and the Abu Mazen period,” Amr said, using Abbas’ nickname.

Israel has accused Abbas of doing too little to dismantle the armed groups, one of the preliminary conditions of a U.S.-backed peace plan. Palestinian officials worry that moving forcefully against the militants could invite a violent response and bring more chaos.

American officials have pressed the Palestinians to revamp the overlapping security forces, and named U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William Ward to help the Palestinians and Israelis cooperate on security matters. Most of his job will be to assist the Palestinian reform efforts.

The Palestinian security agencies have a reported payroll of 58,000, though it is unclear how many members are active-duty. A plan to consolidate the dozen or so agencies into three branches remains under discussion in parliament and is not expected to emerge for several weeks. But lawmakers are urging Abbas to start reforms.

The retirement law signed by Abbas seeks to thin the ranks of senior security officers by granting monetary benefits. It will affect an estimated 2,000 people, officials said, clearing the way for a younger generation of officers.

Analysts and officials say Abbas may be unable to reform the forces until he removes many ranking commanders, who run the agencies as personal fiefdoms.

Order won’t come overnight. A group of gunmen stormed a Ramallah hospital late Sunday, beating a staff member for reasons that were not immediately clear. The hospital staff staged a protest strike Monday.

Khalaf, the restaurateur, said he was appalled by the restaurant shooting rampage but pleased at steps Abbas had taken since. A few bullet holes remain at his establishment, but the shattered windows and smashed bottles of wine have been replaced, and customers have come back. No one was injured in the attack.

On Monday, Khalaf was writing to Abbas, saying he wanted no compensation for the damage other than continued efforts by the government to fight chaos. On the bright side, he said, the night of violence had focused official attention on law and order.

“It seems that our people wanted a dramatic moment to take measures against these people,” Khalaf said.