"Diplomatic sources on Sunday said Israel supports the implementation of the Dayton plan for the training and arming of the Palestinian Presidential Guard, loyal to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
They made the statement following a meeting between Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday......
At the meeting, the Palestinian delegation relayed the details of the plan the Palestinian Authority had devised with the assistance of Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator to the PA.
The sources said Dayton had procured a $59-million budget for two main objectives. The first of these is reinforcement of the Presidential Guard with additional weapons, ammunition, equipment, training and funds. The second is to secure the Palestinian side of the Karni Crossing, which is the lifeline of the economy in the Gaza Strip.
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, the government's most senior contact to Dayton, has discussed the plan with the American coordinator in recent weeks.
Egypt and Jordan have agreed to train the 1,500 soldiers of the Presidential Guard, most of whom are to be deployed in the Gaza Strip. Arab countries from the Persian Gulf have agreed to provide additional funding for the plan.
The guard already received an initial shipment of assault rifles from Egypt several months ago. The sources noted that Abbas had promised Olmert that the soldiers of the guard will be deployed along the Philadelphi Route in Rafah, in an attempt to foil arms smuggling from Sinai into the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, Olmert and Abbas agreed to continue to participate in the meetings of the joint security committee of Egypt, the PA, the U.S. and Israel. The committee's meeting were renewed recently after they had been suspended......"
***
Big celebrations are now called for to celebrate the new "security plan" devised by, and being implemented by Brother Keith Dayton, THE COMMANDER OF PALESTINIAN FORCES!
Long live Palestinian-Israeli-U.S. unity!
No comments:
Post a Comment