Report By Mustafa Al-Sawaf, IOL Gaza Correspondent

GAZA, July 3 (IslamOnline) - Palestinian analysts belittled Wednesday, July 3, the changes Palestinian President Yasser Arafat made in the security leaderships, saying the whole thing is a reshuffle of officials in response to Israeli and U.S. pressures, and hardly reflects the needs of the Palestinian people.

Dr. Abdul-Sattar Qassem, political science professor in Al-Najah National University criticized the change and said that it is a change in people and not a change in policy, adding that the programs of the security operations did not change.

Speaking to IslamOnline, Qassem said that the security forces have been found originally under the protection of the Israeli security forces and the changes that took place are only a consolidation for that.

Under mounting pressure to reform his beleaguered administration, Arafat fired the powerful head of his West Bank preventive security service, Colonel Jibril Rajoub, after he fired another long-time security chief and police commander, General Ghazi Al-Jibali, Palestinian officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The former mayor of Jenin, Zuhair Munasera has been appointed instead of Rajoub and the deputy of Al-Jibali, Salem Al-Bardeni was appointed instead of him. Also removed from his post was Mahmoud Abu-Marzouq, the head of the civil defense, and Major Omar Ashor, in charge of the military operations in Gaza was appointed in his place. Major Rubhi Arafat was appointed to oversee military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Abdul-Kareem Abu-Salah, head of the legal committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that Arafat was attempting to hit two birds with one stone in his announced changes. From one side, he is responding to external pressures and from another side he is seeking to gain popularity among the Palestinians who have repeatedly expressed their discontent with some of the figures that were removed.

“Take Al-Jibali for instance. Despite the fact that Israel says that he is wanted because he is responsible for sending out one of the armed attackers against the Jews, he is still disliked for using violence in dispersing demonstrations that are held by Islamic movements. In some of these demos, at least three have been killed. He also has a bad reputation in terms of money and ethics,” he said.

Abu-Salah said that the decision to remove Al-Rajoub was taken to please the Palestinian street, as all Palestinian forces and especially Hamas have accused him of conspiring with the Israelis and turning in several resistance fighters, who were under siege during the Israeli incursions, at the Preventive Security Headquarters in Ramallah.

A fierce war of words took place between Al-Rajoub and the former head of the Preventive Security in Gaza Mohammad Dahlan, who accused him of dealing with the Israelis and there were also severe fights between Al-Rajoub and Arafat during which Al-Rajoub was slapped on the face once.

Abu-Salah said that these changes were a response to pressures “from above,” especially U.S. pressures and not with the intention of reform.

He said that the Palestinian people need root changes, not only changes in officials. He expressed his fears that what happened is an attempt to concentrate the security affairs in the hands of one person acceptable to the U.S. and Israel to play the role of Antoine Lahd, the head of the Israeli-allied militia during the South Lebanon occupation.

This will be unacceptable among the Palestinians who will fight against it strongly, he added.

Mustafa Barghouty, head of the Palestinian Studies and Media Institute in Ramallah, said that these partial changes will lead to anarchy and will split Palestinian ranks.

He said there was a need to form a national emergency leadership to face the pressures and Israeli aggressions. He stressed that any change or reform will have to be in harmony with the national interest.

“There is no need to proceed with these changes at a time when Israel is taking away from the PA its jurisdictions by using its tanks which occupy the West Bank and surround the Gaza Strip,” he said, adding that it is important not to bow to U.S. and Israeli pressures.