RAMALLAH, April 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has issued instructions to send 1,000 Palestinian National Authority (PNA) officials to retirement, a senior official said Wednesday.

   The official said on condition of anonymity that Abbas would use a law passed by Palestinian legislators last month to forcibly retire about 1,000 officials, most of whom are members of the security forces who are over the age of 60, which would allow a new generation of officers to be recruited.

   The PNA officials will be forced into retirement by the end of the week, said the official, adding the step was part of the PNA's efforts to restructure its security forces.

   He added that Abbas' order aims at enforcing law and order in the Palestinian territories in addition to ensuring adherence to the "calm" terms with Israel.

   According to sources concerned, Abbas has also decided to start to implement the law of insurance and salaries for officers in different Palestinian security apparatuses who had been employed for years and are over the pension age of 60 years old.

   The sources said that all the officials over 60 would follow the pension law, which gives them their rights of getting paid a pension salary, but deprives them from getting employed again by the PNA. Enditem