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New York Congressmen Gary Ackerman and John Hall inspecting the remains of a Qassam rocket fired recently by Palestinian militants in Sderot on Monday. (AP)
Last update - 15:26 30/08/2007
U.S. coordinator plans 5 new Palestinian battalions in W. Bank
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Palestinian, Mahmoud Abbas 

A new plan by the U.S. security coordinator in the territories, General Keith Dayton, calls for the deployment of five new Palestinian battalions throughout the West Bank.

The plan, whose aim is to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, requires the approval of Israel if arms and equipment are to be transferred for the new force, political sources in Jerusalem said Wednesday.

The plan, which is still in its early development, is likely to call for the staged creation of the force, with relatively small units undergoing the necessary training.
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Last week, the U.S. Congress authorized for the first time the transfer of $80 million to the security delegation headed by Dayton, which will be used to bolster the security forces of Abbas. No funding has ever before been transferred to Dayton, and the money will now allow him to carry out his plans.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he would like to conclude a single-page agreement of principles with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The agreement would offer a political horizon for moderate Palestinians, and at the same time avoid details that would cause a political crisis that would derail the diplomatic process.

Earlier this week, Olmert met with a visiting American congressional delegation headed by Gary Ackerman (D-NY), and brought them up to date on his meetings with Abbas.

"The question is whether we will be able to carry out some of the understandings we will reach," Olmert said. "I believe that we want and can make decisions, but the Palestinians have a number of groups, they have no stable democracy, and there is uncertainty about the government and their institutions. I hope we can reach understandings on basic issues, but the implementation will be carried out on the basis of the road map."

Olmert said that the understandings will be "far reaching, so that Abu Mazen [Abbas] will not lose the moderates, but sufficiently moderate so that no mines [sensitive issues] explode. I will propose reasonable and positive views that Abu Mazen will be able to take, and which will be accepted by Palestinian public opinion and Israeli public opinion. We will not push him toward any declarations that will be good at noon and cause us to lose everything by evening."

In the prime minister's view, the main goal of the international summit scheduled to take place in Washington in November is to include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the diplomatic process, in an effort to broaden the Arab world's support for Abbas.

"I do not need to travel to Washington in order to meet Abu Mazen," Olmert told the visiting Congressmen. "We meet here. The focus of the effort in the international summit will be to include elements that to date have not been part of the process."

During her meeting with the U.S. congressmen, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni presented the "red lines" on which Israel is unwilling to compromise. These include the issue of Palestinian refugees returning to territory inside Israel, and ensuring that the Palestinian state will not become a terrorist entity.


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  1.   Olmert Got Nerves 03:22  |  Abe 30/08/07
  2.   The devilish keith dayton strikes again!This time the quisling 03:39  |  lakshmi 30/08/07
  3.   Was this five new settlements or battalions? 03:46  |  Just kidding 30/08/07
  4.   Sen. Larry Craig inspects Israeli bathrooms hit by Qassam rockets 03:50  |  Eyal Ravitzky 30/08/07
  5.   Don`t worry... 04:31  |  Joseph 30/08/07
  6.   Oslo crimes, here we go again 05:10  |  Gili 30/08/07
  7.   Here we go again 05:13  |  Dani putterman 30/08/07
  8.   More Appeasement by Our Own People 05:18  |  ralphsrant1 30/08/07
  9.   Train Equip And Organize Another Army That You Will Have To Fight 05:28  |  Efox 30/08/07
  10.   sounds like a good foundation to peace process 06:05  |  Smadar 30/08/07
  11.   The American Dream World 07:00  |  Natallie Durson 30/08/07
  12.   Duplicitous Gen. Dayton makes Peres look honest by comparison! 07:01  |  Dr. L. Brnd 30/08/07
  13.   5 Trained (and armed) Battalions... 07:04  |  Giles Martin 30/08/07
  14.   More Arab Terrorists = More Dead Jews 07:28  |  Yishai Kohen 30/08/07
  15.   For the sake of peace..... 08:13  |  Esther 30/08/07
  16.   Wise and excellent move by Dayton builds stability and confidence 08:50  |  Ivar 30/08/07
  17.   Great, the US is going to train more Palistinians to kill us. 09:10  |  Reuven 30/08/07
  18.   Just how are the US or anybody else going to "ensure" the 09:12  |  Reuven 30/08/07
  19.   There goes the neighborhood 09:15  |  Daniel 30/08/07
  20.   Thanks for the wonderful analogy, Natallie # 11 09:32  |  Clickfool 30/08/07
  21.   The question is, How long will they remain moderate? 09:37  |  Judith, Haifa 30/08/07
  22.   The shocking history of American foreign policy incompetence 09:38  |  Clickfool 30/08/07
  23.   12 Dr Brnd - Try Again 09:41  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/08/07
  24.   12 Dr Brnd - Try Again 09:42  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/08/07
  25.   #14 YIshai Kohen 09:42  |  Silvienne 30/08/07
  26.   Beware of US deadly mistakes 09:42  |  isratinian 30/08/07
  27.   The obvious goals ... 09:52  |  EyeOnPal 30/08/07
  28.   COMPETING bands of armed thugs.Legacy of Arafat . 10:14  |  PETER SM 30/08/07
  29.   CONFIDENCE BUILDING 10:22  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  30.   ANYTHING, EXCEPT ONE THING 10:24  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  31.   Once again the Ams are confusing the ME 10:45  |  Alice of Wonderland 30/08/07
  32.   #14 Yishai Kohen 10:47  |  Silvienne 30/08/07
  33.   SEND THE GENERAL BACK TO WEST POINT 10:48  |  PAUL HARRIS 30/08/07
  34.   Indonesia too 10:51  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  35.   indrajaya"CONFIDENCE BUILDING or DEATH TO ISRAEL" 11:04  |  PETER SM 30/08/07
  36.   Same Old Nonsense That Led To Oslo Disaster 11:42  |  Ben Israel 30/08/07
  37.   Natalie Durston - Clever girl 11:53  |  WWACD 30/08/07
  38.   More Trouble Brewing, Courtesy Dayton (Satan) 11:58  |  Hani 30/08/07
  39.   They need MORE guns????? 12:08  |  Simon Jenkins 30/08/07
  40.   Dayton plan requires not Israel approval , 12:22  |  Joseph E . 30/08/07
  41.   Sleepwalking to national suicide 12:23  |  rob 30/08/07
  42.   USA TO TRAIN FUTURE TERRORIST ARMY 12:33  |  David P 30/08/07
  43.   Ivar,arming Russians living in Estland would be wise and excellen 12:43  |  Absolute Sweden 30/08/07
  44.   to PETERsm 12:47  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  45.   what for...? 12:57  |  ravi 30/08/07
  46.   Disaster waiting to happen 13:11  |  Nechama 30/08/07
  47.   Arming waring Enemy 13:16  |  DR MIBarton MA.MBA.P 30/08/07
  48.   JUST SAY NO IS NO! 13:19  |  never Again 30/08/07
  49.   Dayton`s empire building 13:21  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/08/07
  50.   Abe 13:22  |  AL 30/08/07
  51.   Strange bedfellows 13:24  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/08/07
  52.   # 25, PETER SM 13:24  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  53.   The American armament idustry,the u.s-israel cabal are the chief 13:25  |  lakshmi 30/08/07
  54.   #22 clikko im waiting for an e mail 13:38  |  victor hardman 30/08/07
  55.   #21, Judith, Haifa 13:44  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/08/07
  56.   Of course another militia and another subcontractor 13:47  |  El-Birawi 30/08/07
  57.   Dayton buying the arabs propaganda spin of `Israeli aggression` 13:55  |  Joseph E . 30/08/07
  58.   This will `help` replace 13:59  |  Mark Lincoln 30/08/07
  59.   I do not need to travel to Washington in order to meet Abu Mazen 13:59  |  Avi 30/08/07
  60.   CHANCES FAVOR THE PREPARED MINDS 14:11  |  indrajaya 30/08/07
  61.   #54 Hardman - answer questions put to you before demanding 14:14  |  Don Camillo 30/08/07
  62.   To Margie in Tel Aviv 14:18  |  Mark B. 30/08/07
  63.   Omert laments `they have no stable democracy` 14:21  |  Don Camillo 30/08/07
  64.   Dayton should plead guilty to disordely conduct 14:22  |  Joseph E . 30/08/07
  65.   Department of corrections and clarifications - Natalie #11 14:32  |  WWACD 30/08/07
  66.   indrajaya "DEATH to ISRAEL" was no fake was it? 14:34  |  PETER SM 30/08/07
  67.   GIVING DRUNKS MORE TO DRINK 14:57  |  Ian 30/08/07
  68.   Last time the Ams trained Pals they became "Al Aqsa Martyrs" 14:59  |  Alice of Wonderland 30/08/07
  69.   PLO/PA terror strategy a la Dayton style 15:04  |  Joseph E . 30/08/07
  70.   Don Camillo #63 *chuckle* 15:07  |  WWACD 30/08/07
  71.