பாலஸ்தீன படைகளுக்கு இஸ்ரேல் ராணுவ உதவி

இஸ்ரேல், பால்ஸ்தீன அரசுக்கு ஆயிரக்கணக்கான துப்பாக்கிகளும், ரவைகளும், கவச வண்டிகளையும் வழங்கியுள்ளது.

Israel OKs Armored Vehicles for Abbas
Wednesday November 21, 2007 2:46 PM
By LAURIE COPANS
Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel said Wednesday it has approved a Russian shipment of armored vehicles and guns to help Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his fight against militants in the West Bank ahead of next week's Mideast conference.

In another conciliatory gesture, Israel will allow resumption of strawberry and flower exports from the Gaza Strip in the hopes of improving the economic situation for the 1.5 million Palestinians living there, Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon said Wednesday.

Since the Hamas militant group took control of Gaza last June, Israel has blocked almost all exports from the area.

Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday received long-awaited invitations to the U.S. conference, where they are expected to relaunch formal negotiations on a final peace agreement for the first time in seven years. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that a peace deal with the Palestinians was possible as early as next year.

Israel's decision to allow the Russian shipment of armored vehicles - along with 1,000 rifles and 2 million rounds of ammunition - came despite opposition from Israel's army and the country's internal Shin Bet security service.

Security officials said they fear the vehicles and weapons will fall into the hands of Hamas. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

A Hamas spokesman, Sami Au Zuhri, said the Israeli decision proved Abbas was working ``hand in hand with the occupation against (Palestinian) resistance.''

``Hamas will remain committed to fight against the occupation and will not give up,'' Abu Zuhri said.

During its takeover of Gaza, the Islamic group expelled Fatah forces loyal to Abbas and captured large quantities of weapons supplied to Fatah by the United States and others with Israeli approval.

Since losing Gaza, Abbas and Fatah have been locked in a so-far quiet struggle with Hamas over control of the West Bank. Israel still has large numbers of troops in the West Bank that back Fatah, giving Abbas the upper hand. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

Russia proposed shipping the armored vehicles to Palestinian security forces two years ago, but the deal was stalled because of Israeli opposition. No timeframe was given for arrival of the vehicles or munitions.

The leader of the opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, objected to the deal, saying Abbas was not strong enough to receive weapons. ``We will one day see Hamas sitting on the armored vehicles, firing at us,'' Netanyahu told Army Radio.

The Hamas takeover led to an Israeli ban on exports from Gaza, which the area's 40,000 farmers have repeatedly demanded be lifted. Simchon's announcement that flower and strawberry shipments will resume will bring in at least $14 million for farmers, the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce said.

Israel also has halted imports to Gaza, except for food and humanitarian goods. Simchon said Israel will further ease trade with the area soon.

The Israeli decisions were meant to improve trust ahead of next week's conference in Annapolis, Md.

U.S. consul Jacob Walles said Abbas received his invitation during a meeting Tuesday. Olmert's office later said Israel also had been invited.

After a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Olmert pledged to follow the peace conference with serious negotiations on all outstanding issues.

The U.S. has been pushing the sides to endorse a joint document laying out their vision for peace ahead of the conference.

Negotiators say they have made little progress, casting a cloud over the summit. But Olmert on Tuesday offered an optimistic view of peace prospects with the Palestinians.

``I very much hope we can reach this agreement in the course of 2008,'' Olmert said in a news conference with Mubarak. However, Olmert also signaled that carrying out any peace deal would have to wait until Abbas regains control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas.

Olmert's one-day trip to Egypt came ahead of a meeting in Cairo Friday of the Arab League, where Arab governments will decide whether to attend the conference.

Arab participation is considered critical for the summit's success, and the states have been reluctant to commit over concern Israel is not serious about addressing the core issues of its conflict with the Palestinians.