Israel on the Brink of a Policy U-Turn in West Bank, Gaza
By TIM BUTCHERThe Daily TelegraphNovember 15, 2006
JERUSALEM — Israel is on the brink of a policy U-turn that would authorize 1,500 armed Palestinian Arab soldiers based in Jordan to move into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
While Israel sees the move as a way to counterbalance the growing power of Hamas, such a policy shift could worsen the internecine violence between rival Palestinian Arab factions, which has claimed scores of lives this year.
It reverses years of strict military sanctions imposed by Israel on the territories because of fears that weapons provided to Palestinian Arabs would end up being used for attacks on Israeli targets.
America, which is behind the initiative, hopes that the arrival of the troops, trained and equipped to relatively high standards by the Jordanian armed forces, will restore badly needed order to the region.
No official announcement has been made, although President Bush is understood to have formally requested the troop transfer before the 45-minute private meeting he held with Prime Minister Olmert of Israel this week.
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1) Israel on the Brink of a Policy U-Turn in West Bank, Gaza
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
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