While the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas is in Washington representing the Palestinian people abroad, his security forces back home in the West Bank city of Ramallah continue to create and promote an atmosphere of erratic and ad hoc violence.

Last night around 8:00 pm, shots were fired randomly in the center of Ramallah. The gun exchange, although not continuous, reportedly lasted until early the next morning. Sources say the clashes took place between the preventive security forces and local police. Although no one was reported killed, there have however, been reports of several injuries. A similar incident took place in Rafah last night; this time involving the National Security Services and the Preventive Security Services.

At a time like this, when the Palestinian leader embarks on a vital visit to promote, represent and seek support as well as assistance from Washington to move forward with peace process, in an attempt to avoid another interim period, and to shift talks between Israelis and Palestinians from merely security-related issues to actual political talks, incidents like these latest ones are completely and utterly counterproductive.

In MIFTAH’s view these acts set a very dangerous precedent for the road ahead facing the Palestinian National Authority in trying to round up and gather all arms under one unified and all inclusive authority. Furthermore, this latest incident only reinforces the Palestinian demand for reforming the security services, ultimately unifying them under one sole authority.

Finally, MIFTAH calls upon the Palestinian National Authority to increase its efforts in establishing itself as the sole authority, implementing the rule of law, as well as rounding up illegal arms throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH, is a non-governmental, non-partisan Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to fostering democracy and good governance within Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency, the free flow of information and ideas and the challenging of stereotyping at home and abroad.