U.K. stresses need to bolster PA security apparatus

LONDON - Prime Minister Tony Blair's government said Tuesday it was important to bolster the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus, to ensure Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza did not create a power vacuum.

Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister would raise the issue with U.S. President George W. Bush when they meet in Washington later this week.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the government had been in close touch with Palestinian officials both in Paris - where Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was receiving medical treatment - and in the West Bank and Gaza.. "We will continue to support them and the Palestinian people through humanitarian aid, support to the World Bank trust fund and bilateral assistance projects on security," Straw told the House of Commons.

The Bush administration, meanwhile, is reaching out to European allies for a possible new push for peace in the Middle East if Arafat is replaced by more moderate leaders, U.S. and diplomatic sources said Monday.

Straw welcomed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's planned withdrawal from Gaza and part of the West Bank, but stressed it must be seen as the first step in implementing the road map peace plan.

"We have also made clear our readiness to give active support to the Palestinian Authority to ensure that there is not a vacuum created by the withdrawal of the Israeli defense force, but instead the opportunities there for the Palestinians to run their own affairs and their own security are properly taken up," Straw said.

Britain has worked closely with the Palestinian Authority in recent months on security, and British advisers have helped set up control centers to coordinate security in Palestinian-controlled areas.

"The Palestinian Authority has clear responsibilities better to control security and terrorism from within their own borders. A high proportion of our direct assistance from the U.K. to the Palestinian Authority is designed to strengthen their security and their security apparatus," Straw told the Commons.

Blair's official spokesman was asked whether Blair would ask Bush to give similar support.

"It is already part of the continuing conversation between us and the U.S. That is one element of it, but it is only one element, but it will undoubtedly be there," he said.

The trip is an important test of Blair's influence over Bush.

It's widely assumed in Britain that Blair backed Bush over the Iraq war in return for a pledge that Bush would push harder for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Many members of the governing Labor Party are uncomfortable about Blair's close relationship with the Republican president, and anger over Britain's support for the Iraq war continues to simmer.

A poll published Tuesday by The Times newspaper suggested that Britain's disenchantment with the Iraq invasion is growing. Some 57 percent of the respondents thought military intervention was the wrong choice, while 31 percent thought it was right. In a similar poll in July, 52 percent opposed the war and 38 percent backed it.

Blair's office has played down the likelihood of a major policy announcement following the talks in Washington, but expects a "signal of intent" that will give the peace process fresh momentum.

Some Labor lawmakers believe Bush has not done enough to push the road map peace plan, which envisages a separate Palestinian state.

Labor lawmaker Ernie Ross said the prime minister must return from Washington with "something more than just promises."

"The whole of the Middle East is looking to this meeting. The prime minister has staked a lot on it," he said.