Jerusalem, June 07: Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan is to offer armed Palestinian groups six thousand dollars apiece for guns they possess in a bid to rid the Palestinian territories of illegal arms, Israel public radio reported today. The report, which was not immediately confirmed by Palestinian security officials, said Dahlan received money from the US and British governments and from the European Union to fund the programme.
Citing sources in the Gaza Strip, the radio said Dahlan was likely to have reached an agreement about illegal weapons with the al-Aqsa martyrs' brigades within the next few days.
A senior figure in the brigades, an armed offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, was quoted as saying Dahlan was paying twice the price for such a weapon on the black market.
Dahlan was also proposing to give six thousand dollars to every brigade member who would agree to leave the organisation and join the Palestinian security forces, the radio said.
At the peace summit in Aqaba, Jordan on Wednesday, Palestinian prime minister Mahmud Abbas committed himself to ridding the Palestinian territories of illegal weapons as a first step towards implementing the Mideast peace roadmap.
"We emphasize our determination to implement the pledge we made to our people and the international community: the rule of law, a single political authority, weapons only in the hands of those charged with upholding law and order, and political diversity within the framework of democracy," he said.
Bureau Report