The security service in Gaza has been restored and is now ready for a development phase. This was the message given by Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip, at a ceremony honouring Police College graduates on 7 March. The government's intention is to have a professional security service that serves the Palestinian people, not the aims and objectives of the Israeli occupation. Denying rumours that there are internal divisions within the government, Mr. Haniyeh insisted that everyone is dedicated to serving their religion, their nation and their people.








Gordon Brown’s proposals to change the law in Britain to make it harder for private citizens to apply for arrest warrants against suspected war criminals has been condemned by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). If the British Prime Minister’s changes are pushed through, local magistrates will lose the power to issue such warrants. It was a magistrate in Westminster who issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s ex-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in December, causing her to cancel a visit to Britain. Under Brown’s proposals, it will be up to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if there is a better than reasonable chance of securing a conviction before any warrants is issued. In practice, this means that arrests are unlikely to happen. It is believed widely that Brown’s proposals have been made at the insistence of the government of Israel and the Israel lobby in Britain.
By Abd al-Rahim Rihan
By Asa'ad Telhami








