JENIN, West Bank, Sept 13 (AFP) - A militant group on Monday ordered a private university in this northern West Bank town to close, saying the move was in protest at interference by Palestinian security services.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- a group loosely affiliated to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement -- said in a statement it had decided to shut down Jenin's Arab American University.
It mentioned, among other things, what it called the harassment of university manager Zaher Barahmeh by security agents who tried to force his resignation.
A university spokesman confirmed that the university had closed following "internal problems".
The university released a statement saying it supported the Brigades' decision and would close "until further notice" as it denounced "the blatant interference of intelligence services" in its affairs.
It also demanded a public apology from the services for having questioned Barahmeh's integrity.
The incident was the latest illustrating the breakdown of order in the occupied territories, where security personnel and armed militants have taken advantage of the Palestinian Authority's loss of authority to take the law into their hands.
Israeli troops took control of most West Bank towns and villages in the spring of 2002 in a bid to dismantle militant groups.
Palestinian officials often complain that the systematic destruction of the domestic security apparatus hamper their efforts to rein in militant groups and restore order in the West Bank.
The Arab American University was founded in 1995 with a 4,000-strong student body. It follows an American curriculum and is affiliated to Californian State University, Stanislaus, and Utah State University.