Free Headline Alerts     
Worldwide Web WorldTribune.com
Front Cover
Daily Brief
Recent Hits
Real Times News
Opportunities
Take a Stand
Letters
Archives
Blog Line
World Links
Population Clock
Cartoon
Greatest Hits
Gertz File
Advertising Info
Editorial Board
Advisory Board
Contact Info
What Rush Said

  breaking... 


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Palestinians: Future state must have armed forces

RAMALLAH — The Palestinian Authority has demanded the right to establish a military after independence.

PA sources said Palestinian negotiators have relayed a demand that any Palestinian state would be allowed to establish an army and air force, Middle East Newsline reported. The sources said the military would be deployed along the borders with Israel and Jordan and ensure external security.

Qurei submitted the Palestinian demand for a military during negotiations with Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni in Jerusalem on May 18. The sources said Ms. Livni was taken aback by Qurei's position and thought he meant that the new Palestinian state would create a strong police force.

"Livni was very upset by the Palestinian demand and saw this as a violation of previous commitments," an Israeli official said.

Also In This Edition

"If we are to become an independent state, then we are responsible for our own security," a PA source said. "This has been our position."

The PA demand was relayed by chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei, a former prime minister. The sources said the position marked a departure of a previous commitment that any Palestinian state be demilitarized.

The Israeli official said the PA has hardened its positions during the latest U.S.-sponsored negotiations for a Palestinian state by 2009. The official said Qurei was supported by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who determined that the Palestinian state must not be inferior to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, which has established a 10,000-man military.

On Monday, Palestinian gunners in the Gaza Strip fired missiles that reached the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. The missiles landed near an unspecified strategic site in the city.

About Us     l    Contact Us     l    Geostrategy-Direct.com     l    East-Asia-Intel.com
Copyright © 2008    East West Services, Inc.    All rights reserved.