Gaza unrest may spoil PA plans for calm

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Gaza unrest may spoil PA plans for calm
Jerusalem Post
Khaled Abu Toameh
September 5, 2005

For the second day running, scores of Palestinian Authority policemen blocked a main road in the Gaza Strip to demand a raise in their salaries. Eyewitnesses said the policemen fired into the air as they closed the coastal road linking the northern Gaza Strip with the southern part of the area and brought traffic to a standstill.

After barricading themselves behind burning tires, the policemen left the area quietly when they were surrounded by a large police force. No casualties were reported.

On Sunday, the policemen staged a similar protest in Gaza City to protest against the PA's failure to equate their salaries with members of other Palestinian security organizations.

The protest is seen as yet another sign of growing discontent among the PA security forces over PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas's failure to fulfill his promise to improve their living conditions. The demonstrations come as the PA prepares to deploy some 15,000 policemen in the areas evacuated by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Some PA officials warned on Monday that the latest unrest could spoil Abbas's efforts to impose law and order in the aftermath of the disengagement.

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