Security chiefs refuse to accept dismissal by Arafat

Moves by the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to purge and reorganise his security forces under pressure from the White House and the Palestinian public were plunged into confusion yesterday amid conflicting reports over the fate of his West Bank security chief, Colonel Jibril Rajoub.

The colonel, one of the most powerful figures in the Palestinian leadership, denounced reports of his dismissal as "lies and baseless stories", describing them as part of a plot to discredit him and his forces.

His possible dismissal attracted huge attention among West Bankers, many of whom regard him with distaste – partly because he has liaised with Israel and the CIA, but also because of his willingness to crack down on those who publicly criticised the Palestinian leadership as corrupt, compromised and ineffectual.

As uncertainty surrounded his sacking, his security counterparts in the Gaza Strip were struggling to contain internal dissent. Palestinian hospital officials said that 21 people were wounded when violence erupted in Rafah refugee camp in the southern part of the strip.

Reports from Gaza said that the Palestinian Preventive Security force fired into a crowd of protesters which attacked a police station with rocks and pipe-bombs, demanding the execution of a suspected collaborator believed to have helped Israel assassinate four paramilitaries from the Islamic- nationalist Hamas group.

Unrest has been brewing in Gaza for some time, coming to a head earlier this week when a crowd – which had gathered to protest at the economic collapse brought about by Israel's blockade of Gaza – turned its wrath against the Palestinian Authority (PA), accusing it in an angry chant of thieving from the people. This appears to have been behind the PA's decision to handed out 600-shekel (£80) unemployment payments to 9,000 people.

The removal of Col Rajoub – tipped in the past by some analysts as a possible successor to Mr Arafat – amounts to a fundamental change in the Palestinian security apparatus, which often resembles a collection of rival private armies. In recent years, he has played a pivotal role in shoring up Mr Arafat's rule, although the two men have had spectacular rows, including one in which an enraged Mr Arafat brandished his pistol in the colonel's face.

Senior Palestinian officials appeared to share the general uncertainty over his sacking, which coincided with the reported firing by Mr Arafat of his police chief in Gaza, Razi Jabali.

Saeb Erekat, one of the leadership's most prominent spokesmen on the West Bank, said he did not know if Col Rajoub was fired. Ghassan Khatib, a newly-appointed minister, confirmed that there were significant changes at the top of the Palestinian security forces, but would not discuss individual officials.

Mr Arafat's office did not confirm either sacking. Suspicions abound that Mr Arafat has ordered the moves but has delayed issuing an announcement until he has assessed the public response.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, described the sackings as "window-dressing".