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Palestinian Authority to Opt Out of US Training Program
The Palestinian Authority is reportedly planning to drop the American involvement in the increasingly strong US-sponsored Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. According to Jane’s, a security magazine published in London, the Palestinian Authority will replace US trainers with Palestinian officers, effectively marginalizing the US team led by US Gen. Keith Dayton. The United States has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into training the four battalions so far. The elite forces are considered to be a major factor in the relative security calm and economic prosperity currently witnessed in the territories. The plan calls for the force to come under the direct control of the PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Some Palestinian and European security officials have reportedly criticized the plan since it does not address the possibility of absorbing Hamas fighters into the security apparatus.
Rocket Attack from the Gaza Strip Kills Civilian in Israel
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit an Israeli greenhouse killing a migrant worker. It was the third rocket in 12 hours at the relatively quiet but tense border. The man was the first person killed by a rocket attack since January 2009’s Gaza War, when Hamas fired over 750 rockets into Israel during the 22-day offensive.
President Obama Takes a Swipe at Israeli Minister
As both the Americans and Israelis move to lower diplomatic tensions, President Obama has taken a personal swipe at the minister in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s cabinet who sparked the current crisis. In an interview with Fox news, Obama said: “I specifically sent Vice President Biden to Israel to send a message of support and reassurance. The actions that were taken by the interior minister in Israel weren’t helpful to that process.” Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party was behind the announcement of the construction of 1,600 apartments in Jerusalem. Numerous Israeli media outfits are quoting unnamed US officials as saying they expected Netanyahu to dismiss Yishai in the wake of the fiasco. “If this had happened in the US heads would have rolled,” one was quoted as telling the Ma’ariv daily. The obvious meddling in the internal affairs of Israeli politics by Obama is seen by some pundits in Israel as an attempt to reform Netanyahu’s coalition into one more centrist and willing to make stronger concessions for peace with the Palestinians.
Top PA Official Sends Reconciliation Overtures to Hamas
Mohammed Dahlan, the former head of the Palestinian preventative security service has urged Hamas to join forces with rival Fatah to fight a common battle against Israel. The surprise overture came in Cairo where Egypt has been trying to forge an agreement between the two Palestinian camps that could pave the way for national elections. “I truly hope that Hamas will surprise us and join a collective battle,” said Dahlan, a Fatah Central Committee member and bitter rival of Hamas. He said that a unity among the Palestinians would be beneficial for them particularly as “the crisis between Israel and the US is great.”
Israel Releases Top Hamas Terrorist
Israel has quietly released from prison a top Hamas terrorist after serving 18 years in jail for founding its armed military wing, Izzad al-Qassam. The release of Salah Aruri was coordinated with the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and its Jordanian counterpart. Aruri, a Palestinian from the West Bank, is to spend years in exile in Jordan under the terms of the release. Aruri’s release could be seen as progress in the talks for a larger deal between Israel and Hamas to swap hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for captured Israeli soldier Cpt. Gilad Shalit. Aruri’s freedom could be a step by Israel to add pressure on the Hamas leadership to accept Israel’s demands that some of the Palestinian prisoners slated for release accept exile.
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