Palestinian President Says Hamas Militia Is Illegal - New York Times

Palestinian President Says Hamas Militia Is Illegal - New York Times: "anuary 6, 2007
Palestinian President Says Hamas Militia Is Illegal
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:18 p.m. ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared Hamas' militia in the Gaza Strip illegal, and the Islamic movement responded by defiantly announcing plans to double the size of the paramilitary unit.

The dueling announcements raised the stakes in Abbas' standoff with Hamas, which has intensified in the year since the Islamic group defeated Abbas' Fatah party in parliamentary elections, gaining control over most government functions. The dispute has centered in large part around control of the powerful Palestinian security forces.

Hamas accused Abbas, who was elected in a separate presidential vote, of giving a ''green light'' for attacks against its men and pledging to resist any crackdown. It said it would double the size of its force to 12,000, compared to a force of some 18,000 allied with Fatah.

Myriad -- and overlapping -- forces were formed more than a decade ago by the late Yasser Arafat to help ensure law and order in the Palestinian areas, but after years of corruption and fighting with Israel, the forces have become largely ineffective, fueling widespread"