Yasser Arafat clashes with Palestinian security chiefs over appointment
At a meeting last night, more than 100 top security officials refused to accept the Palestinian leader's appointment of the former governor of Jenin, Zuhair Manasra, as Preventive Security chief.
The appointment is in place of Jibril Rajoub, who has been mentioned as a potential successor to Mr. Arafat.
Eight officers emerged from the two-hour meeting at Mr Arafat's battered headquarters saying they remained loyal to him, but had made it clear they wanted Mr Rajoub appointed to another post "at least as important."
The dismissal of Mr. Rajoub, once touted as a potential successor to Mr. Arafat, comes amid demands from Washington for Palestinian security reform to stop attacks on Israelis.
It also follows a demand from US President George W. Bush that Mr. Arafat be ousted as a condition for Palestinian statehood.
Relations between Mr. Arafat and Mr. Rajoub have been strained since a reported row between the men in mid-February where Mr. Arafat is said to have pointed a gun at Rajoub and accused the security chief of trying to replace him.
Mr. Arafat was reportedly upset Rajoub had surrendered his security compound during a massive Israeli offensive. The Israelis arrested six Palestinian militants, but hundreds of other Palestinians inside were allowed to go free.
The two are reported to have also clashed over attacks inside Israel in recent months by the Islamic radical Hamas movement and an armed offshoot of Arafat's Fatah group.
