Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided on Tuesday to sack Tawfiq Tirawi, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)'s intelligence chief and nominate him as an advisor for security affairs.
A senior Palestinian source in Ramallah, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Abbas has held a meeting with Brig. Gen. Tirawi in Ramallah and informed him the decision.
The source said the decision is to nominate Tirawi as a security advisor for Abbas, adding that Tirawi was also nominated as chief of the Palestinian Security Academy based in Jericho.
"Abbas and Tirawi met and agreed on the issue. Tirawi wasn't surprised and was not angry. He knew in advance that he has reached the pension age and he would leave the post soon," said the source.
On Tuesday morning, Abbas' office denied reports saying that two generals, Tirawi and chief of National Security Diab el-Ali, were sacked.
However, according to the source, Tirawi argued with Abbas over who will be his successor, insisting that his successor should be one of his senior intelligence officials.
The source denied that the decision to sack Tirawi was made upon an Islamic Hamas movement's request to strike a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo in November.
Meanwhile, Hamas movement's spokesman in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoum, rejected that Hamas asked Egyptian mediators to pile pressure on President Abbas to replace his security chief in order to secure the national dialogue.
Source:Xinhua
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