After 100 days as Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas is slowly but surely asserting his control over key institutions despite having failed to secure any major breakthrough in the peace process with Israel.
Abbas, sworn in as President of the Palestinian Authority on January 15, was elected on a ticket that promised to reimpose the rule of law while leading a fight against corruption in the corridors of power.
While the situation on the ground remains chaotic in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Abbas has embarked on a radical overhaul of the security services by reducing the number of branches from about a dozen to just three.
His late predecessor, Yasser Arafat, had long promised a similar reform but never translated his words into action.
But in a sign of his intent to assert his authority and break with the past, Abbas appointed three new faces over the weekend to lead the slim-line security network, pensioning off the old guard.
The appointments came two months after nearly all the ministerial hangovers from the Arafat era were replaced by a new-look Cabinet of technocrats.
An illustration of his desire to tackle the rampant corruption with the government was seen when four senior officials were recently charged with trying to siphon off hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds.
In an even more clear-cut sign that Abbas is presiding over a new era, in February he met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a summit in Egypt in what was the first top-level Israeli-Palestinian meeting in more than five years.
Sharon boycotted his arch-enemy Arafat, but has said he regards Abbas as a man with whom he can do business.
The summit resulted with both men calling an end to hostilities that have claimed about 4 750 lives since they erupted in September 2000.
As Abbas pointed out at a news conference in Gaza City on Monday, levels of violence have decreased markedly.
”During the past 100 days, there has been no [Israeli] military offensive or public disorder,” said Abbas. ”I am not saying at this stage that we have re-established security for our people and applied all the reforms, but we have begun an important process which, I say to you in all honesty, cannot be carried through in 100 days.”
However, militant groups such as Hamas who have agreed to Abbas’s calls to freeze their campaign of attacks until the end of the year, believe the Palestinian leader has little to show for his efforts so far.
”I think that the Zionist enemy bears the responsibility for the insecurity in the territories. There are also Palestinian personalities who do not want to see radical reforms carried out which are against their interests,” said Hamas spokesperson Mushir al-Masri.
”As a consequence, Abu Mazen [Abbas] has not been able to implement the radical reforms which he promised … The performance of Abu Mazen has not lived up to the expectations of our people.”
Palestinian deputy Hanan Ashrawi, an outspoken critic of Arafat’s rule, said she has been impressed by Abbas’s efforts to date, but stressed that he needs more support.
”It is clear that Abu Mazen has executed a change [in policy] in terms of security and law and order, politics and international relations,” Ashrawi said. ”But that does not mean that he can do all this by himself. On the law and order front, there is a real need for the government to move forward with what he has initiated.
”But there is still much work that needs to be done on this at all different levels of society and government,” she said.
While proud of his achievements to date, Abbas stressed he is no miracle worker.
”Don’t tell me that we can achieve miracles in 100 days, for the age of miracles has passed. We do not have a magic wand, but that should not prevent us from continuing our work,” he said. — Sapa-AFP