Officials said Abbas submitted the plan to Mitchell in July amid
indirect talks between Israel and the PA. They said the United States has
been pressing the PA to move to direct negotiations with Israel based on a
plan for a Palestinian state over the next two years.
Mohammed Dahlan, a key aide of Abbas and member of the Fatah Central
Committee, said the PA plan called for the deployment of NATO troops between
the West Bank and neighboring Jordan. He said NATO forces would also be
stationed in other areas of the West Bank deemed as lacking sufficient
security.
In a briefing on July 13, Dahlan said the PA plan also called for a
Palestinian state in the entire West Bank with the option of land swaps with
Israel. He said the plan has also been submitted to Israel, which has not
yet responded.
"Mitchell is expected ask the PA to go to direct negotiations with a
package that would overcome obstacles to a full agreement," Dahlan said.
At this point, Dahlan said, Fatah would not agree to direct talks with
Israel unless it submitted to PA demands on the borders of a Palestinian
state and the freezing of Jewish construction in the West Bank and most of
Jerusalem. He said Israel must accept the principle of a Palestinian state
in the entire West Bank as well as eastern Jerusalem.
Officials said Israel has insisted on its right to patrol the air space
over any Palestinian state as well as the pursuit of insurgents who conduct
attacks from the West Bank. They said Israel has also expressed reservations
to the establishment of a separate Fatah-controlled state in the West Bank
while Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.
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