TEL AVIV (Ma’an) — Former Fatah top man in Gaza Mohammad Dahlan reportedly recruited, paid and intended to command a new militia in the West Bank, a report in Israel’s daily newspaper Haaretz said on Friday.
According to the report, the plan was uncovered by Palestinian Authority security agents who questioned men suspected of being contacted by Dahlan for recruitment into the armed group.
Sources within the leading West Bank party Fatah, which President Mahmoud Abbas heads, told the paper that those recruited were given cash to buy weapons, and instructions on their purchase.
The report comes amid increased tensions between Dahlan, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, the parties top ruling body, and Abbas. In December, a television station said to be affiliated with Dahlan was shut down, with PA officials saying the station had failed to pay its licensing fees.
Earlier in the month, reports in the Hebrew press said tensions between the two were increasing, to which Dahlan responded on Ma’an radio, saying “there are those who seek to harm our relationship,” but he, as a member of Fatah, continued to stand behind the president.
Dahlan, appointed Media Commissioner in the Fatah Central Committee, the ruling party’s top governing body, said that recent reports alleging bad blood between him and the president and Fatah leader were “leaked information” which did “harm relations” with Abbas, but insisted that the issue did not become a dispute between the two.
Hitherto unsubstantiated rumors that Dahlan sought to depose Abbas remain here say.
According to Haaretz, the PA has taken steps to reduce the status of Dahlan, first removing the security personnel assigned to his home and office, then later removing his friends and allies from government posts.
Dahlan also separated himself from the government when he came out against the prospect of direct peace talks with Israel, a US-mediated offer later accepted by Abbas. The talks collapsed 24 days after they begun, and on Thursday PA officials said a US request for a return to indirect talks would not be granted.
