June 23, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1428

RAMALLAH, June 22: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Friday sacked his security pointman a week after his security forces suffered a humilating defeat to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas issued a decree to announce the dismissal of Rashid Abu Shbak, who was for more than a year his director of internal security — an umbrella formation of preventive security, police and civil defence.

Abu Shbak was appointed to the post in April 2006.

Some within Abbas's Fatah party hold Abu Shbak, and fellow party member and one-time Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, responsible for the security services’ defeat to Hamas, who captured control of the entire Gaza Strip on June 15.

—AFP