In an audacious, but carefully executed decision, Yasser Arafat has sacked his powerful security chief. Khaled Amayreh reports from Jerusalem Yasser Arafat implemented his decision to dismiss West Bank security chief Jebril Rajoub in an extremely tentative manner. Looking back on the events of last week, it appears that the first reports on Rajoub's removal -- carried by Western news agencies and attributed to "unidentified and reliable sources at the president's office" -- were "feelers" sent out by the Palestinian Authority (PA). And for nearly two days, neither PA Chairman Arafat nor his closest aides would publicly confirm or deny the report, apparently to test Rajoub's and his supporters' reactions. However, when the report was published on the front page of the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, whose Editor-in-Chief Akram Haniyya is a close aide to Arafat, Rajoub gradually but grudgingly realised that the matter went beyond "rumours" and "a suggestion" as he earlier labelled the decision to sack him. "I'm a soldier and soldiers obey orders from their commanders without hesitation," Rajoub told reporters in Ramallah on 4 July. On 5 July the PA issued a terse statement saying that Arafat decided to "relieve" Rajoub of his responsibilities as chief of preventive security and appoint Zuheir Manasrah, former governor of Jenin, in his stead. However, the decision, especially the way it was made public, angered Rajoub, although it seems that he kept much of his anger private, perhaps owing to his well-known aspirations for a central political role in the post-Arafat era. This is particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that until a few months ago Rajoub was considered a leading candidate for Arafat's successor. However, Rajoub couldn't conceal his disappointment at being dismissed, and on 6 July he told reporters that he was sure that his immediate subordinates, namely, high-ranking Preventive Security Force (PSF) officers, wouldn't accept the newly- appointed chief, Manasrah, as their leader. Rajoub did not give any compelling reasons why his former subordinates might reject Manasrah, other than to say that the new head of security was an "outsider". He went on to recommend that someone from the PSF be appointed in his stead. This attitude on the part of the erstwhile powerful security chief prompted Palestinian observers to remark that Rajoub wanted to retain control of the PSF. Rajoub's effective rejection of his dismissal was accompanied by three restrained demonstrations in his support in the West Bank towns of Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron, the former security chief's hometown. There, several hundred protesters, the majority of them PFS officers and employees, staged a demonstration outside the municipal building calling on Arafat to reinstate Rajoub as PSF chief. "Rajoub is an honest and innocent man," read one of the placards carried by the protesters who were careful not to attack Arafat personally because, as one officer said, "We don't want to rock the boat, we only want our man back in his job." A group of high-ranking PSF officers also took their request directly to Arafat, urging him to reconsider his decision, but to no avail. Arafat also met with Rajoub and reportedly offered him several posts to choose from, including deputy-interior minister, presidential security adviser and minister-without- portfolio. According to reliable sources, Arafat also promised Rajoub that his career was not over and that his dismissal was necessitated by "the grave circumstances we are facing". The reasons behind Rajoub's dismissal remain unclear. Rajoub had lost much of his popularity following the Israeli army takeover of his headquarters in Beitynya near Ramallah, but that was nearly four months ago. At that time, many Palestinian leaders, including some of Arafat's closest aides such as Mohamed Rashid and Mohamed Dahlan, insinuated that Rajoub had effectively handed over Fatah and Hamas fighters to the Israeli army. Nonetheless, Rajoub had always been viewed as more of an asset than a liability for Arafat's rule. Hence, some observers are predicting that if Rajoub's dismissal is not followed soon by his instatement in another position that satisfies the former security chief, the move will further weaken Arafat. Rajoub was not the only Palestinian security chief to find himself out of a job this week. General Ghazi Jabali, chief of the Palestinian Police, was replaced by his deputy, Colonel Salim Bardini. In contrast to Rajoub's removal, Jabali's dismissal was generally met with satisfaction throughout the occupied territories, especially in the Gaza Strip. Jabali was widely despised for the numerous "excesses" he has committed since his appointment as police chief when the PA was established in 1994. These include ordering his men to open fire on peaceful demonstrators outside the Palestine Mosque in Gaza in 1995, causing the death of 14 people. Jabali also earned the antipathy of Palestinians for his often vindictive campaign against Islamist activists and institutions in Gaza. In one incident in 1996, Jabali ordered his men to raid the chemistry labs of the Islamic University of Gaza, an action in which lab instruments and appliances worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were destroyed. It is unclear whether Jabali, 60, will eventually be given another position or go into forced retirement. Some reports suggested that he might be appointed ambassador to Libya or another African country -- a tactful measure to marginalise a political and public relations liability. Following his dismissal, Jabali remarked that he might decide to run against Arafat in the presidential elections proposed for January. But very few Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, take such remarks seriously. In fact, many Palestinians are calling on Arafat to investigate how Jabali, like most other security chiefs, amassed the vast wealth and real estate holdings he now allegedly possesses. In the meantime, it is unlikely that the spate of dismissals will stop at Rajoub and Jabali. According to sources close to Arafat, the Palestinian leader intends to get rid of more of his present top security chiefs, including Intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi, Force-17 chief Faisal Abu Sharkh, National Security Forces chief Haj Ismael Jaber and Amin Al-Hindi, head of the PA intelligence branch in Gaza. On Sunday, the new PA Interior Minister Major General Abdel-Razzaq Al-Yahya moved to consolidate his powers, underscoring his resolve to crack down on any discontent or misdirected loyalties among disgruntled security agencies all of which are now officially answerable to him.
