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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| PA rejects any deployment of foreign troops in West Bank |
| 2008-01-09 |
| The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday rejected the idea of deploying third party troops in the West Bank. A senior PA official said there was no need for the presence of foreign troops in the West Bank "because the Palestinian security forces are capable of assuming their responsibilities in the area." The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that the US is preparing a plan to station third party troops in the West Bank to secure the area after an Israeli withdrawal and before the PA can take over full security control. The issue of how to deal with the period between when Israel leaves large swaths of the West Bank and the PA is able to take control is likely to be discussed during talks US President George W. Bush will hold in Jerusalem and in the PA this week. US Special Envoy for Middle East Security James Jones has been assigned the task of preparing a plan on this issue within six months. A number of options are being considered, including the involvement of NATO troops or Jordanian and Egyptian forces. The PA official told the Post that he had not heard about the idea until now. He also expressed doubt that Bush would raise the issue during his talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad. "Before we talk about deploying foreign troops in the West Bank, we must talk about the need to halt construction in the settlements and remove the Israeli checkpoints," he added. "In any case, we are opposed to the presence of non-Palestinian security forces in the Palestinian territories." |
| Posted by:Fred |