GAZA CITY, 29 November 2006 — Israel has agreed in principle to let Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas send a security force loyal to him into Gaza, where a fragile truce is in effect, an Israeli diplomatic source said yesterday.
As part of efforts to bolster the moderate Palestinian leader, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Abbas in the West Bank town of Jericho tomorrow, Palestinian officials said.
The request to redeploy the 1,000-strong Jordan-based Badr Brigade, the source said, came from Abbas, whose declaration with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday of a cease-fire in the tinderbox territory has stirred hopes of peace talks.
“Basically, we have agreed, though it has not yet been officially released,” the source said. “The request came through before the cease-fire, but certainly this could boost the truce.” A senior Abbas aide said full agreement was not yet secured.
“We have asked, but we await the official and full details of the Israeli response,” negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.
The United States, trying to salvage a tattered road map to peace, has signaled support for letting the brigade into Gaza or the occupied West Bank to reinforce Abbas’ men.
The brigade’s members hail from Abbas’ Fatah faction, trounced by Hamas in elections in January. The rival groups have since clashed on whether and how to engage Israel.
The Israeli diplomatic source gave no date for the Badr Brigade’s deployment in Gaza, which Israel quit in 2005.
“It is likely to take some time,” a source close to the deliberations said.
Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the US security coordinator in the region, told an Israeli newspaper last week the idea of redeploying the Badr Brigade “makes sense both from the military as well as from the political point of view.”
Olmert and Abbas are under growing US pressure to show progress on ending decades of conflict. President George W. Bush and Rice are to arrive in Jordan today and may address the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
A spokeswoman for Olmert said he had no talks planned with Rice, who will be attending a conference in Jordan.
“The prime minister met with the secretary of state and the (US) president two weeks ago (in Washington) ... and there are no plans for an additional meeting,” the spokeswoman said. In a major policy speech on Monday, Olmert offered to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians and free up frozen funds if violence against Israel ended. He repeated his readiness to give up some occupied land for an eventual peace agreement.
Abbas’ office said he “welcomed (Olmert’s) comments over returning to the negotiating table” based on the road map charting reciprocal steps leading to the creation of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.
Olmert said in the speech, however, that peace talks must await formation of a Palestinian unity government, to replace the one now headed by Hamas.
Hamas’s rise to power prompted the West to impose an aid embargo on the Palestinians, with the demand that their new government renounce violence and recognise Israel.
Hamas, which advocates Israel’s destruction, has refused.
Hamas has created its own Gaza militia — dubbed the “Executive Force” and comprising 6,000 men — saying it is only for improving security in Gaza. Yet the buildup has stirred concern that a full-blown Hamas-Fatah showdown is imminent.
Following the weekend truce declaration, the Palestinian government posted thousands of police along the Gaza frontier with orders to prevent fighters firing rockets into Israel.
Meanwhile, in Tampere, Finland, Arab and European ministers yesterday welcomed the cease-fire in Gaza and urged renewed efforts to promote Middle East peace and direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the cease-fire and a statement from the Hamas movement that it would accept the 1967 borders of a Palestinian state offered “potential hope.”
Syria, a bitter foe of Israel, voiced support too for recent developments.
“We support the cease-fire,” Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem told reporters. “We hope that the cease-fire can be implemented on the West Bank also, so that this will pave the way also for the peace process.” Some analysts interpret acceptance of 1967 borders as an implicit recognition by Hamas of Israel’s right to exist — a key demand of the West for dealing with the Palestinian administration.
However, others say they do not believe Hamas is going further than a long-term truce. In a joint statement after the Tampere meeting, the Arab and European ministers called for “the reinvigoration of efforts to promote progress in the Middle East Peace Process.”
“They also encourage the parties to continue on the path of direct dialogue and negotiation,” it said.
— With input from agencies
