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A force to protect Abbas

Looking to support Palestinian president, U.S. funnels $20M into a military unit to safeguard his life

BY SONIA VERMA | Special to Newsday

October 24, 2006

JERICHO, West Bank - The sun had not risen, but the soldiers of the Palestinian Presidential Guard were already flush from morning training, their green fatigues dark with sweat and covered in dust.

Standing in the slim shade of a concrete block, their commanding officer barked orders to his new recruits: "We are the Presidential Guard, so it is our duty to protect the president," said Lt. Raed Khalil, kicking the sand with a polished combat boot. The president they are charged with protecting is Mahmoud Abbas.

Under a controversial, $20-million, U.S.-led plan to bolster Abbas, this army will be transformed from a group of exhausted, unpaid soldiers - many training in jeans and T-shirts because they haven't been issued proper uniforms - into an elite force.

U.S. Gen. Keith Dayton is working with senior commanders of the 3,500-strong army to double its ranks and widen its mandate.

But the U.S. involvement is stoking concern that it could fuel escalating violence between Abbas' Fatah party and Islamic militants from Hamas. In recent weeks, fighters from both sides have threatened opposing leaders with death and, in Gaza, there is open talk of civil war.

Hamas' Executive Force fighters number about 6,000. There are plans for the Presidential Guard to swell to 11,000. Senior Western diplomatic sources say the Guard, one of six Palestinian security services, is the only one considered trustworthy by the United States. "It is seen as more credible, stable and independent than any other force," said one of the sources.

Palestinian analysts point out the Presidential Guard is not neutral, its troops drawn exclusively from Fatah loyalists, under direct orders from Abbas.

Support or interference

Critics say Washington's support amounts to interference that could turn volatile. "The U.S. shouldn't just funnel money and arms and training to one faction because those weapons might be used for internal conflict during times of crisis," says Abdel Nasser Najar, a Palestinian newspaper editor in the West Bank. Any donations should be directed to humanitarian causes, he adds.

Using his powers as president, Abbas has given his guardsmen broader jurisdiction since Hamas won Parliamentary elections in January. Their duties have grown from purely providing personal security to monitoring the Gaza-Egypt border crossing and fighting Hamas militiamen in street clashes.

Next month, they probably will be deployed at the Karni border crossing between Israel and Gaza and, according to Washington, Abbas' personal protection force will need replenishment.

Construction is already under way on a sprawling 18-acre training camp near Jericho. When complete, the concrete compound, ringed with barbed wire, will sleep 500 soldiers and is being funded partially with aid raised by the United States.

"Hundreds of people are giving us their phone numbers because they want to come in for interviews. In six months we will be ready to fight with full force," said Lt. Khalil, 28.

New recruits must be single males, between the ages of 18 and 24, have a high school diploma and fit height and weight requirements. Most importantly, they must display unswerving loyalty to Fatah, senior commanders say. All applicants are screened by military psychologists and "monitored" by the army's own counterterrorism unit.

"We are looking for the most loyal people. Nobody from Hamas is allowed," said a colonel who asked for anonymity. He said Washington already had sent several teams of military trainers to teach his soldiers courses in "preventative security." The sessions will continue as the force expands, he said.

Poorly equipped

Several senior commanders complained that, despite the U.S. pledge of support, the Presidential Guard is still poorly equipped, using old weapons that frequently jam.

"How can we protect Abu Mazen with these old pistols?" asked one officer, using Abbas' nickname. Israel apparently blocked the transfer of new weapons, so for now his soldiers train without.

For its part, Hamas says that an expanded Presidential Guard poses no immediate threat, but that it will fight back if confronted. "If this force is being developed to fight Hamas, then our reaction will be according to what they do against us," said Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for Hamas' executive force.

Recently, the colonel's unit created new scenarios for a teaching manual used to train soldiers how to respond to an attempt on the president's life. "We cover all topics from poisoning to car bombs," he explained. His army is preparing for a confrontation with Hamas in the coming months.

"I am afraid for his [Abbas'] life. If you put Hamas in a chokehold, they will kill him. If they kill him, what will happen next?" he asked, punching his left fist into his right palm to signal revenge.

Back at boot camp, Pvt. Abdel Raman Nasser, 18, who joined the Presidential Guard six months ago after completing high school in Jenin, said he was ready to defend Abbas, even if it meant fighting fellow Palestinians.

"Whatever he asks from us, we will do," Nasser said.

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Looking to support Palestinian president, U.S. funnels $20M into a military unit to safeguard his life

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