RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Saturday placed the security services in Ramallah on a 'state of alert' after an incident this week when militants fired into the air inside his compound, officials said.
The move saw hundreds of security forces deployed throughout Ramallah "to assure order and security".
"Abu Mazen (Abbas) has no choice but to impose law and order to achieve security for Palestinian citizens as he promised in his (election) campaign," national security adviser Jibril Rajoub told AFP.
"This can only be achieved by reviewing the security hierarchy, as well as conducting the necessary transfers among the leaders of the security organisations and activating the retirement law," Rajoub said.
Such moves were crucial in order to formulate "a professional, productive security establishment which is able to meet its obligations on a regional, national and international level", he said.
Abbas was due to meet security chiefs later on Saturday to discuss the security situation in the Palestinian territories, Rajoub said.
Persistent lawlessness was highlighted earlier this week when a group of renegade gunmen allied with the dominant Fatah faction, opened fire inside Abbas's leadership compound in Ramallah.
There were no casualties but the outburst deeply embarrassed the Palestinian leader who has repeatedly pledged to restore security.
Since the shooting, several top security officials have been sacked, while others tendered their resignation, leaving a slew of positions to be filled.
On Friday, Abbas dismissed General Haj Ismail Jaber, the West Bank national security chief, as well as the Ramallah security chief, Yunis al-Has.
At the same time, intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi handed in his resignation "because of the corruption and the shooting", but it was not immediately accepted by Abbas.
A Palestinian official source told AFP that several "names were being studied" to fill the vacant positions, with Rajoub tipped as the top contender for Jaber's post.
Other moves to clear out dead wood among the security leadership include a retirement scheme which will see high-ranking officials over the age of 60 compelled to step down.
The Palestinian parliament has already approved the scheme and it is expected to be enacted in the coming days. The move is likely to see hundreds of ageing officials stepping down.
In an attempt to root out corruption, the Palestinian attorney general is investigating four senior officials on suspicion of misuse of public funds, the source added.
Three of them are high-ranking officials from the finance ministry, while the fourth was the former special secretary to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
04/02/2005 17:25 GMT