Palestinian Interior Ministry says Auxiliary Forces to expand despite Abbas' decision
7/1/2007 11:07
Palestinian Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it would expand its
Auxiliary Forces to 12,000 troops, defying a call by Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas to outlaw the Hamas-controlled forces.
Islam Shahwan, spokesman
for the troops told reporters during a news conference in Gaza that "We have
announced this officially and opened the door before the Palestinian people to
join the Auxiliary Forces."
Meanwhile, Khaled Abu Helal, the spokesman of
Interior Ministry, said Abbas' decision to ban the Auxiliary Forces was a result
of continuing incitement by his aides and those "rebels" against the forces,
warning that "Any harm against the forces would be faced with force and
strictness."
He recalled that lots of statements by Israeli and American
officials and some aides of President Abbas were made against the Auxiliary
Forces, saying that some 60 of them were killed by Israel since they were
created last April.
Earlier, Abbas declared that the Auxiliary Forces,
controlled by Interior Minister Said Siam and established in Gaza after Hamas
took power, were illegal and outlawed, adding that the forces should be
integrated into the official security departments.
Xinhua
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