Abbas orders security forces to action

JERUSALEM -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas fired top Gaza security commanders Thursday, Palestinian officials said, hours after militants fired dozens of mortar shells and homemade rockets at Jewish settlements there, breaking a 2-day-old cease-fire.

An official said on condition of anonymity that Abbas dismissed chief of public security Brig. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaidie, police chief Saeb al-Ajed, three other senior commanders and several lower-ranking officers.

Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said Abbas took "punitive measures against officers who did not undertake their responsibilities, which led to the latest developments in Gaza," dismissing several commanders and accepting the resignations of others.

'Dangerous developments'

The dismissals came hours after Abbas ordered security forces to stop militants from firing mortars and rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza. Despite a cease-fire declared Tuesday, Hamas militants launched more than 30 mortars and rockets at settlements Thursday, causing no casualties or damage.

Militants also stormed a prison in Gaza, freeing Hamas suspects.

"These are very dangerous developments, and they violate the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority," Abu Libdeh said. "No one can continue with these violations."

Abbas is committed to reforming the competing and overlapping Palestinian security forces. Last month, he ordered that more than 1,000 veteran officers be retired.

The flare-up in violence, which has included the fatal shootings of two Palestinians, has presented the first serious test to the truce declared by the Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week. Abbas will go to Gaza today to tell militants he will not tolerate violations of the cease-fire, Abu Libdeh said.

Israel, which has linked further progress in peace talks to Abbas' ability to control militants, called for an immediate end to the violence.

In a potentially significant concession, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signaled in a newspaper interview Thursday that he was ready to release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners involved in deadly attacks if militants halt violence during Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.

Sharon said Abbas stressed during their recent summit in Egypt that the release of long-serving prisoners was a top priority.

"He (Abbas) told me simply that it is a major problem," Sharon told the Haaretz daily.

In the past, Israel refused to release those involved in deadly attacks.

A senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity that Sharon would consider the release of prisoners "with blood on their hands" on an individual basis.

The newspaper quoted Sharon as saying he told Abbas that if the Gaza withdrawal proceeds smoothly, he would release larger numbers of Palestinians involved in attacks. Israel fears that militants will fire on Israeli troops and Jewish settlers during the withdrawal to portray it as a retreat under fire.

Abbas has deployed thousands of Palestinian troops throughout the Gaza Strip to prevent attacks on Israeli targets. Israel has responded with a series of gestures, including a planned military pullback from five West Bank towns in the next three weeks.

However, the cease-fire remains fragile.

Early Thursday, Hamas militants said they fired 36 mortar shells and 20 homemade rockets at the Jewish settlements of Neve Dekalim and Gedid in the Gaza Strip. Hours later, three more mortars landed in Gedid.

Palestinian security officials said on condition of anonymity that the rockets were fired from areas they were not permitted to patrol.

Sharon's office called Egyptian, American and Palestinian officials on Thursday to express concern about the fresh violence.

"We informed them we expect the Palestinians to act immediately against these attacks," said Sharon aide Asaf Shariv.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks, saying it was avenging the deaths of two Palestinians on Wednesday. One, a Hamas activist, was killed while handling explosives. The second, apparently a civilian, was killed by Israeli troops while approaching a Jewish settlement in southern Gaza.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian motorist who sped through a roadblock near a Jewish settlement. The army said the man was driving a stolen vehicle.

Both Israeli and Palestinian officials Thursday accused the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah of being behind the Gaza barrage in an effort to disrupt the truce.

"We know that orders have been issued from Lebanon for some parties to continue and not accept what happened" in Egypt, a senior Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity.

Palestinian security officials said Abbas dispatched an envoy to Lebanon this week to urge Hezbollah to halt attacks. Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif denied Wednesday that the group was trying to disrupt the calm.

In another development Thursday, Israel said it opened a main crossing point with the Gaza Strip, though only a handful of Palestinians were able to use it because of a bureaucratic mix-up.

A military spokesman said as many as 1,000 Palestinian workers were expected to pass through the Erez crossing, but the failure of Israeli employers to provide necessary paperwork limited the total to about 20.

Before violence erupted four years ago, more than 100,000 Palestinians crossed into Israel every day to work, providing a key source of income for poverty-stricken areas.

Also Thursday, a Gaza settlement leader said 150 of the community's 310 families signed a declaration saying they were ready to move to Israel.

Nahum Haddad, a member of the Nissanit town council, said residents were prepared to leave after parliament officially approved the evacuation -- expected later this month. The remaining families were expected to sign on during the next several days, he said.

"We are against the evacuation, but if it goes through then we want leave in an orderly way and stay together," Haddad said.

Settler leaders have voiced strong opposition to the withdrawal plan, which would uproot 9,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four small West Bank settlements.