Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, The Electronic Intifada, Aug 30, 2007
"CAIRO, 27 August (IPS) - Since the Gaza Strip was taken over by Palestinian resistance faction Hamas in June, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has twice appealed for the deployment of an "international force" to the troubled territory. But with international contingents already deployed in hotspots from Lebanon to Afghanistan, some observers see the trend as a challenge to principles of national sovereignty.
"The phenomenon represents a return of the region to the foreign colonialism of days past, albeit in a new, internationalized form," Abdel-Halim Kandil, political analyst and former editor-in-chief of opposition weekly al-Karama told IPS. "An international presence in the Gaza Strip would be especially dangerous because many would consider it no different than the Israeli occupation."......
In a case of strange bedfellows, Abbas' proposal has been endorsed by Israeli cabinet minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu Party. In late June, Lieberman went so far as to visit several NATO member nations in an effort to garner support for the idea.
But that Abbas' proposal should find the support of Lieberman -- whose party has openly called for expulsion of Palestinians from lands claimed by Israel -- has only further damaged the PA President's image as defender of the Palestinian cause.
"It's just another indication that Abbas is acting according to the U.S.-Israeli agenda in the region," said Kandil, "and not in the interests of Palestinian statehood.""
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