A Palestinian diplomat has denied a newspaper report that the PA preventive security chief in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, was taking up residence in Cairo, and said that as far as he knew, Rajoub still had his job.
Mohammed Sobeih, the Palestinian ambassador to the Arab League, was commenting on a report in the London-based Al-Hayat daily that Rajoub was being demoted as part of a Palestinian drive for reform and that he would now live in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo.
Sobeih told AFP that Rajoub on Monday ended three days of discussions with Egyptian officials about the "Middle East crisis," and that he was heading for another Arab country before he would "go back to the West Bank."
When asked about a report in Al-Hayat, that he might be moving to Cairo, he replied, "This is rubbish."
When further asked whether he was still chief of preventive security, Sobeih replied, "Still, we did not hear anything else officially."
Al-Hayat, quoting sources in Abu Dhabi, said Rajoub may reside, "temporarily or permanently" in Egypt, and that he may be ousted from his position under reforms pledged by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
The sources added that Rajoub's ouster would mean the victory of Mohamed Dahlan, the head of preventive security in the Gaza Strip, in a power struggle between the two for the leadership of the Palestinian security services.
Sobeih added that Rajoub had left for Cairo airport and was travelling to another Arab country, which he did not identify, before he heads back to the West Bank through Jordan. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
