Ghazi al-Jabali | |
|---|---|
| Chief of thePreventive Security Service of Gaza Strip | |
| President | Yasser Arafat |
| Succeeded by | Musa Arafat |
| Chief ofPalestinian Civil Police Forces of Gaza Strip and West Bank | |
| Assumed office October 2003 | |
| President | Yasser Arafat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946 (age 78–79) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Fatah |
Ghazi al-Jabali (born 1946) is a Palestinian police officer. He was theGaza Strip Chief of thePreventive Security Service, appointed by thePalestinian Authority. Al-Jabali, who held the rank ofMajor general at the close of his tenure in the Palestinian security forces, had been a police commander and chief of the Gaza police since the early 1990s.
Since 1994 he has been the target of repeated attacks byPalestinian groups opposed to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, including gunfire aimed at his offices and a bomb that destroyed part of his house.[2] He has also been the subject of a 1997 arrest warrant and extradition request fromIsrael, based on accusations that he ordered Palestinian police officers to attack an Israeli checkpoint in July 1997.[3]
Al-Jabali was the target of protests after the shooting deaths of three Palestinian teenagers during clashes with police forces; demonstrators claimed that al-Jabali had given police officers orders to shoot protesters throwing stones during aHamas organized demonstration in support ofOsama bin Laden.[4][5]
Al-Jabali resigned from his post as chief of police in Gaza in June 2002, during a security forces shake-up that also saw the dismissal of ColonelJibril Rajoub and the resignation of ColonelMohammed Dahlan. Along with his resignation he announced his intention to oppose Yaser Arafat as a candidate for president of the Palestinian Authority.[6] He was appointed chief ofPalestinian Civil Police Forces in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in October 2003.[7]
A February 2004 gunfight Gaza police headquarters was construed by some officials as an attempt on al-Jabali's life. Other officials blamed violence on his rival Mohammad Dahlan members of the body he formerly commanded, Preventive Security Service.
Al-Jabali was criticised for corruption and curbing press freedoms, as well as the arrest of Eyad Sarraj, acivil rights activist.[8]
On July 17, 2004, he was kidnapped at gunpoint by the Jenin Martyr's Brigade, part of thePopular Resistance Committees, who ambushed his convoy and wounded two bodyguards. Al-Jabali was only released after Palestinian PresidentYasser Arafat agreed to fire him. He was replaced with Arafat's cousin,Musa Arafat, a move which did little to restore public confidence in Police.[8][9][10]