Jerusalem, July 06: Preventive security officers in the West Bank were meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to discuss the new leadership of their security service after the messy dismissal of prominent former security chief Jibril Rajoub angered his loyal officers. Arafat, under Israeli and American pressure to restructure his competing and overlapping security forces and direct them to stop terror attacks against Israel, recently appointed Jenin governor Zuheir al-Manasra to replace Rajoub.

The former security chief waited two days after word circulated he'd been fired for Arafat's formal notification -a perceived snub that riled Rajoub's officers.

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Ultimately, Arafat offered Rajoub the Jenin municipal post, which he did not accept. Some preventive security officers threatened not to work under the new commander, raising speculation the force - the strongest security branch in the West Bank - might be disbanded. Rajoub, who has been mentioned as a possible Arafat successor and has had close ties with Israeli officials, said he would not comment until the meetings were finished, possibly later today.

Rajoub, who has said despite the dismissal he remains loyal to Arafat, lost face among many Palestinians and outraged Islamic extremists for surrendering his compound - and Palestinian militants jailed inside - to Israeli forces in April during the massive West Bank military campaign aimed at crushing militias behind deadly attacks on Israelis.
Bureau Report