Israel Won't Promise Egypt Strike Halt

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel won't make a blanket promise to Egypt to halt military strikes in the Gaza Strip once Egyptian advisers are deployed there, but will maintain calm as long as it is not attacked, officials said.

The issue will come up Wednesday, in meetings between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Israel's defense and foreign ministers.

Suleiman is also to meet later Wednesday with Yasser Arafat, to hear the Palestinian response to an Egyptian security plan for Gaza after an Israeli pullout, scheduled for next year.

Egypt wants to send about 200 advisers to Gaza before the withdrawal to retrain Palestinian security forces. As part of the plan, Egypt seeks Palestinian security reform and an Israeli guarantee to halt all military strikes, including targeted killings of militants and raids of Gaza towns.

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JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel won't make a blanket promise to Egypt to halt military strikes in the Gaza Strip once Egyptian advisers are deployed there, but will maintain calm as long as it is not attacked, officials said.

The issue will come up Wednesday, in meetings between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and Israel's defense and foreign ministers.

Suleiman is also to meet later Wednesday with Yasser Arafat, to hear the Palestinian response to an Egyptian security plan for Gaza after an Israeli pullout, scheduled for next year.

Egypt wants to send about 200 advisers to Gaza before the withdrawal to retrain Palestinian security forces. As part of the plan, Egypt seeks Palestinian security reform and an Israeli guarantee to halt all military strikes, including targeted killings of militants and raids of Gaza towns.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4235557,00.html

There should be no relinquishing the right to self-defense.

as lobbing missiles from helicopters into densely populated areas, killing innocent women and children? I believe that your definition of self-defense is very different from mine.

Clinton made a valiant effort, but this horrific conflict has been ignored ever since. Thanks to Jimmy Carter, who you can see is my avatar, Egypt has a treaty with Israel, so they have some standing here. Someone needs to listen and act and it doesn't appear that George Bush* is interested. He is busy waging war in Iraq. So this is a glimmer of hope, the first for a long time. Let's just hope that this unusual move leads to an unusual peace. I am sure that anyone in this region will take what they can get, more's the pity.

...but after reading that, I'm even less convinced that there'll ever be an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza than I was before. I'd love to see what the compromise is that the anonymous Israeli official was talking about. It'd be in Israel's best interests to step right back and let Egypt retrain Palestinian security forces, because if Gaza does end up without Egypt and descending into chaos, Hamas grabs power and it'll be on for young and old...

Violet...

The Israeli government agrees with that. It's Arafat and the terrorists who are objecting


Saying the Palestinians are not reliable negotiating partners, Sharon has turned to Egypt, which borders Gaza, to help secure the area after the Israeli pullout.

Egypt has offered to send some 200 military experts to Gaza to retrain Palestinian security forces. It also demands sweeping Palestinian security reforms, including merging 12 security branches into three, and wants Arafat to yield some of his powers.

Arafat has resisted reform demands in the past, and analysts say he is trying to stall the Egyptians while avoiding an open confrontation.

Report

How long have they been talking about this, but they have yet to take any action. I also can't see Israel compromising on much of anything. The people might be willing to make compromises to achieve peace, but the government is notoriously recalcitrant. I cannot see Sharon letting any other outside power or nation take any measure of control. He was opposed to an international peacekeeping force because that took power out of his hands. I believe that getting other nations on board, who also have some stake in this, promises real progress, but I am not optimistic that this will ever be allowed under the current government, which is a coalition with the hardliners.