GAZA CITY — The United States has assured the Palestinian Authority
that Israel would not invade the Gaza Strip.
PA sources said the State Department sent a message to the PA that the
Israeli military was ordered not to conduct large-scale operations in the
Gaza Strip. The sources said the military restraint came in wake of U.S.
warnings to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"We've received assurances from the highest levels in the U.S.
government that Israel would not launch a large-scale military operation in
the Gaza Strip," a PA source said.
Also In This Edition
The U.S. assurances were relayed to the PA as Israel's military urged the
Israeli government to invade the Gaza Strip. The military has warned that
only an Israeli ground operation could reduce Palestinian missile strikes
from the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Israel's so-called Security Cabinet discussed military
operations to halt Palestinian missile fire. No decision was reached as
Palestinians fired at least three missiles into Israel.
The Olmert government has not acknowledged U.S. pressure to prevent an
Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Instead, the government said it opposed
a renewed military presence in the Gaza Strip in wake of the Israeli
withdrawal and expulsion of its Jewish residents in 2005.
"No one wants to reenter Gaza and take care of education and sewage
there," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said. "We reserve the right to escalate
[militarily] when we choose."
The Bush administration has relayed a plan that stipulated the
deployment of PA troops in northern Gaza to prevent Palestinian missile
fire. Under the U.S. plan, Israel would first remove military checkpoints in
the West Bank and enable Palestinians and goods to move from the Gaza Strip
through Israel.
"The Israelis don't want this plan because it would disrupt the status
quo," a PA official said.