ABBAS APPOINTS TERRORIST AS CHIEF PRESIDENTIAL GUARD

Abbas names top fugitive head of Force 17

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas decided on Tuesday to appoint a security officer who had been accused by Israel of involvement in terrorist attacks as overall commander of his Force 17 “presidential guard” in the West Bank. The decision to appoint Col. Mahmoud Damra, also known as Abu Awad, comes only days after Israel agreed to provide weapons and ammunition to Force 17 following increased threats on Abbas’s life. PA officials told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas approved the appointment of Damra in a presidential decree issued just before he left Ramallah for Tunis. They confirmed that Damra was on Israel’s list of wanted terrorists, but claimed that the charges were “baseless.” “Damra is a senior Palestinian officer who was very close to the late Yasser Arafat,” said one official. “He did have a role in the revolution and in the struggle against Israel, like most Palestinians. But today he is committed to the peace process and he supports President Abbas.”