PARIS, Dec 18 (KUNA) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said here Tuesday that he agreed with a French proposal to deploy an international force to back up the Palestinian Security services.
On Monday, at a Donors Conference for the “Palestinian State,” which raised USD 7.4 billion in pledges including USD 300 million from Kuwait, President Nicolas Sarkozy said France was proposing the deployment of an international force in the Palestinian areas “when the time comes.” This presumably means when the Palestinian State is functioning in a more autonomous manner and is controlling more of the security hotspots that Israel currently controls.
Indeed, the Quartet group for Middle East peace, suggested in a statement late Monday that Israel examine a proposal to allow Palestinians to control their side of crossing points in the West Bank.
The international force proposal would aim to have a mechanism working with the Palestinians to avoid problems.
“We are in agreement (with the proposal). We accept it and we will work for it to become an international proposal,” the Palestinian Authority President said in a press conference on Tuesday.
On several occasions in the past, the deployment of an “interposition” force in the region to separate Palestinians and Israelis was mooted as Israel consistently blocked any such idea for fear it would hamper its ability to carry out raids against areas in the West Bank and Gaza.
Commenting on Mondays successful conference at which the Palestinian three-year reform plan was applauded by national and institutional participants, Abbas cautioned that there were “no guarantees” from Israel that it would cooperate.
Israels cooperation, particularly the lifting of barricades and the easing of movement of goods and people, is deemed crucial to the success of the Palestinians in rebuilding their ruined economy and creating a viable State.
Many participants at the conference urged Israel to take those measures, in addition to freezing settlements and reopening Palestinian offices in East Jerusalem, which is destined to be the capital of the future Palestinian State. Many participants also urged reconciliation between the West Bank and Gaza in order to prevent further suffering in the Gaza Strip, where humanitarian conditions are extremely grave.
But the Palestinian plan and the financing package agreed upon here on Monday is also destined to take Gazas financial needs into account, officials pointed out.