Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 130 of 2004 Concerning Security Arrangements

Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 130 of 2004 Concerning Security Arrangements

The Council of Ministers,

Having reviewed the Amended Basic Law,

Having reviewed the decisions of the National Security Council during its session convened in the city of Ramallah on 25 January, 2004, with regard to security arrangements in order to maintain public order and enforce the rule of law, inasmuch as it is an approach to end the state of chaos as well as a step on the path to meet the obligations of the National Authority toward our people, and

Based upon what the Council of Ministers approved under No. 2/10 during its session in the city of Ramallah on 26 January, 2004, under the presidency of the President and with participation of the members of the National Security Council,

hereby decides the following:

Article 1

The structure of the security agencies shall be approved and their efforts unified in accordance with the following:

1. A Central Operations Room shall be established in the West Bank and another in the Gaza Strip. An officer with a high rank from the National Security Forces shall be responsible for the management of each room.
2. Each Central Operations Room shall include all security agencies, which shall work in coordination as one team in each Central Operations Room. The mission of each Central Operations Room shall be to control the security situation, enforce the rule of law, follow up on and oversee the field implementation of the security measures in the various Governorates of the homeland, implement the decisions issued by the Command, and issue the necessary directives in this regard to all competent authorities in all Governorates.
3. The National Security Council under the presidency of President Yasser Arafat and with participation of the Prime Minister as the Deputy-Chairman of the National Security Council shall assume the supervision over such operations and follow up with their implementation.
4. All matters pertaining to administrative and financial issues, as well as the payment of salaries to the members of the security agencies, shall be regulated and adjusted again.
5. Changes and transfers of commanders and officers of the security agencies shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the supreme national interest.
6. The members of the security agencies shall be trained, and such agencies shall be developed so as to be able to perform their duties to the best possible extent.

Article 2

A subsidiary operations room shall be established in each Governorate, in the selfsame formation determined for the Central Operations Rooms. The Governor shall be the rapporteur for the subsidiary operations room in each Governorate.

Article 3

The deployment of the Police Forces in official uniforms, along with their equipment and weapons, shall begin immediately; the enforcement of the rule of law, the maintenance of public order, the protection of internal security, and the end of all forms of chaos, armed demonstrations, and violations of the law shall also begin immediately. The necessary measures shall be taken to prevent any infringement that may contradict the obligations of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and the National Authority.

Article 4

Any person who contravenes or obstructs these security arrangements shall be subject to legal accountability. All contraventions and offences shall be referred to the Judiciary.

Article 5

The Ministry of Finance shall provide the budgets necessary to secure the needs of the security agencies so as to enable them to implement the decisions of the National Security Council.

Article 6

All competent authorities, each one within its sphere of jurisdiction, shall implement the provisions of this decision, which shall enter into force as of the date of its promulgation and shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Issued in the city of Ramallah on 26 January, 2004 AD, corresponding to 4 Thu al Hijja 1424 AH.

Ahmed Qurei’

Chairman of the Council of Ministers