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Jerusalem-The U.S. reportedly wants to deploy five new battalions of Palestinian security personnel in the West Bank, press reports said on Thursday. It is not clear how big the battalions would be, but they usually consist of 500-1,000 men. The plan, unveiled by Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories, is part of continuing Western attempts to bolster Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Dayton has been working on such a plan for months. The plan, still being developed, would use "relatively small units" that would undergo the "necessary training," press reports said.Israeli approval is required if weapons and equipment are to be transferred to the Palestinian forces, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz quoted political sources in Jerusalem as saying on Thursday. Congress reportedly has approved the transfer of $80 million to Dayton's security delegation, the paper said. (Following the violent Hamas takeover in the Gaza Strip, President Bush announced that the U.S. would provide $80 million to bolster Palestinian security services and improve Palestinian lives.)Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev would only say that Israel "supports the strengthening of the Palestinian government and the Palestinian security services so they can fight against the terrorists."The State Department announced last week that its Bureau of Diplomatic Security would send teams to starting training officers of Abbas' Presidential Guard in VIP protection.The training program is part of the international effort to "strengthen and transform" the Palestinian security services and improve law and order in the P.A., the State Department said. (See earlier story)Critics have warned that in the past, schemes to bolster Palestinian forces have worked -- and eventually have been used against Israel.Press reports on Thursday said Abbas is looking for ways to end the dispute between his Fatah faction and Hamas.Fatah, which earlier participated in a "unity" government with Hamas, broke off ties with the group in June following Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip.Since then, Israel, the U.S and other Quartet members-EU,Russia and UN-have backed Abbas. The U.S. and Israel have been pushing for closer ties with Abbas in an attempt to strengthen him and restart peace negotiations.Abbas met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier this week and reportedly discussed an agreement that would spell out the commitments the two sides are willing to make in a final agreement.But a report carried by both the Jerusalem Post and the Sudanese News Agency SUNA said that a delegation led by an Abbas associate met in Khartoum on Tuesday with Sudanese government officials to discuss ways of ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute.Israel is not in favor of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation.According to Regev, "the progress that has been achieved (in Israeli-Palestinian relations) in the last two months and the progress we're hopeful to achieve is all possible because Hamas has been marginalized and removed from the political picture."He said putting Hamas back in the picture would stop the "momentum."To read more go to:
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