Palestinian minister urges switch to civil resistance instead of violence

The Palestinians' top security official called yesterday for Palestinians to end all violence against Israelis and switch to civil resistance in the intifada.

"All forms of Palestinian violence have to stop," said the Interior Minister, Abdel Razak al-Yahya. Mr Yahya is overseeing security reforms that the United States has demanded of the Palestinian Authority. He said: "All resistance acts that are characterised by violence, such as using arms or even stones ... are harmful. I call for civil resistance within the framework of the political struggle."

It was the most far-reaching call against violence made by the Palestinian leadership since the uprising erupted in September 2000 after peace talks with Israel stalled.

An Israeli official welcomed Mr Yahya's remarks but said Israel wanted action from the Palestinian Authority. "There is a need to assume authority, to take full control of the situation," he said, calling for "a determined and persistent effort" to stop anti-Israeli attacks.

Mr Yahya suggested that he faced an uphill battle for peace, with Palestinian society in a "state of chaos" and "continuous [Israeli] closures and siege" that made Palestinians susceptible to radical ideas. Mr Yahya, who recently struck a preliminary agreement with Israel on steps towards a truce, repeated remarks he made to an Israeli newspaper last week in urging an end to Palestinian suicide attacks, saying they harmed the Palestinian cause. "I oppose the suicide attacks because they divert the young generation from taking the right path in life, that of building statehood," he said.

The militant Islamist group Hamas, which has killed scores of people in suicide bombings, rejected the call to end attacks. Mr Yahya has met Hamas in Gaza to discuss the issue.

Mr Yahya acknowledged that the Palestinian Authority was having "great difficulty in regaining full control" of security in Palestinian areas. Israel currently occupies six Palestinian cities. "Let's admit ... we have lost a lot," Mr Yahya said of the suicide attacks. "I am not saying this side is to blame, or that. I'm saying there is occupation and dealing with occupation in this manner has harmed us. Therefore, we have to find other ways to deal with it.

"The Palestinian leadership condemns every suicide attack. Shall we stop at condemnation? ... I say the whole concept has to change," he said. "The mentality will change by returning first to normalcy and doing that would be first to end occupation." He added: "Every [Palestinian] has to help us to make the rule of law prevail in our areas, from the areas that the Israeli troops leave. If the situation remains as it is, we will never be able to set up our state."