Abbas Acts to Get Guns Off the Streets

The new Palestinian leadership on Thursday forbade civilians to carry weapons, the latest in a series of steps meant to rein in militant groups and help quell lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The measure was seen as another sign that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been in office less than two weeks, is determined to swiftly establish a climate in which long-dormant peace talks with Israel can be revived.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon offered his warmest praise yet for Abbas and said a breakthrough was possible.

“There is no doubt that Abu Mazen has begun to work,” Sharon said, using Abbas’ nickname. His comments came during an interview published Thursday in the newspaper Yediot Aharonot.

“I intend to be accommodating toward Abu Mazen, while at the same time remaining vigilant,” he added.

Later, at a convention in Tel Aviv, the Israeli leader said, “Conditions have been created which will enable us and the Palestinians to reach a historic breakthrough in relations.”

The weapons ban, approved by the Palestinians’ national security council and signed as a decree by Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, is likely to be symbolic, at least initially. The West Bank and Gaza are awash in illicit firearms, and there have been no indications that militant groups are ready to give theirs up.

Nonetheless, such actions could strengthen Abbas’ hand in his dealings with the Bush administration. He sought to use that lever Thursday in talks with visiting Assistant Secretary of State William J. Burns.

The American envoy told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah that the “moment of opportunity is fragile” for reestablishing negotiations and beginning serious implementation of the U.S.-backed peace plan known as the road map.

The State Department announced that Burns’ boss, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, plans to visit Israel and the West Bank during an eight-day trip that will begin Thursday.

Rice will meet “leaders on both sides,” spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday, but he could not say whether she would meet with Abbas or Sharon.

“She’ll convey the president’s commitment and our desire to take advantage of every opportunity to move forward toward peace,” Boucher said.

Abbas said Thursday that Palestinians were committed to the road map, which envisions the creation of an independent Palestinian state. At the same time, he urged Israel to pledge to observe a hiatus in armed confrontations with militants, who have largely adhered to an informal cease-fire for a week.

“The Israelis have to respond quickly. We cannot wait for a week or two,” Abbas said.

Israeli officials have indicated that they do not wish to enter a formal truce with the militant groups, preferring instead to exchange “calm for calm.”

Abbas and Korei were expected soon to announce the appointment of a new interior minister, to whom the commanders of various security forces would report. Palestinian officials said they had chosen Nasser Yousef, who has dealt forcefully with militant groups such as Hamas.

Hamas was poised to make its own show of strength, though, in the first municipal elections in the Gaza Strip.

Thousands of Palestinians flocked to the polls Thursday in 10 small municipalities, where more than 400 candidates were vying for 118 seats. Arafat had always quashed plans for elections in Gaza, purportedly fearing that Hamas would outpoll his Fatah movement.

Hamas boycotted the presidential election but did unexpectedly well in a first round of municipal elections held last month in the West Bank.

Campaigning was lively before the Gaza vote, with villages adorned with posters and flags representing the factions: green for Hamas, yellow for Fatah and black for Islamic Jihad.

“Palestinians are looking to the democratic process and elections as a route to freedom,” said Jamal Shobaki, the Palestinian Authority minister for local governance. “We think it is a message to the international community that the Palestinian people deserve a state.”

Election officials said turnout was 90% to 95%. Preliminary results were expected to be announced today.

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Times staff writer Sonni Efron in Washington and special correspondents Fayed abu Shammalah in Gaza City and Maher Abukhater in Ramallah contributed to this report.