By Wafa Amr
(Reuters)
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Egypt gave Yasser Arafat two months to make good on promises of reform if Cairo is to help Palestinians keep order in Gaza after an Israeli pullout, officials said on Wednesday.
The deadline was delivered by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman at a meeting in the veteran Palestinian leader's battered West Bank headquarters.
An Egyptian presence could help prevent a collapse into factional anarchy or an Islamist takeover in the Gaza Strip if Israel goes ahead with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's U.S.-backed plan to withdraw troops and settlers.
Egypt is also trying to mediate a cease-fire with Israel.
But Egyptian help depends on Palestinian security reforms that would mean Arafat ceding some powers as well as on agreement from armed factions wary of Cairo's role in a territory held by Egypt until the 1967 Middle East war.
"We have two months to issue decisions, make necessary security reforms and security appointments and advance the dialogue between factions," Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie told Reuters. "After that, security experts from Egypt will arrive."
Egypt, ready to send up to 200 trainers to Gaza, has not said what it will do if reforms fail. Arafat has resisted previous calls for change that would cost him influence, but repeated on Wednesday that he welcomed the Egyptian offer.
The Egyptians want Arafat to unify at least a dozen security forces into just three and also hand over some powers to Qurie.
Promises
"Arafat has given promises but has not taken any action on the ground," said one Palestinian official.
From the West Bank city of Ramallah, Suleiman dashed to nearby Jerusalem to meet Israeli leaders -- though not Sharon.
Israeli officials welcome an Egyptian presence in Gaza, but say they are not ready to agree a total cease-fire there and are uneasy at reports the Egyptians would like international forces stationed in Gaza.
Having ruled out negotiations with the Palestinians for now, Sharon also emphasized on Wednesday that he had no intention of letting the Egyptians restart talks through the back door.
"We see enormous importance in the Egyptian involvement in Gaza and on the border," Sharon was quoted as saying by Army Radio. "But I have no intention of enabling the Egyptians to hold a position as mediator."
In Cairo, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns backed Egypt's initiative after meeting officials there.
"We're confident that we are going to be able to make progress," he said.
Sharon's plan to remove all 21 settlements from the Gaza Strip and four of 120 from the West Bank won cabinet approval in principle this month, but the removal of Jewish enclaves still needs another vote in March.
Medics said Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in Gaza on Wednesday. The army said it had shot a gunman. Palestinian security sources said the 22-year-old man was a farmer. The army said it killed the bodyguard of an Islamic Jihad militant during an operation to arrest him the West Bank city of Nablus.
(Reuters)
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Egypt gave Yasser Arafat two months to make good on promises of reform if Cairo is to help Palestinians keep order in Gaza after an Israeli pullout, officials said on Wednesday.
The deadline was delivered by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman at a meeting in the veteran Palestinian leader's battered West Bank headquarters.
An Egyptian presence could help prevent a collapse into factional anarchy or an Islamist takeover in the Gaza Strip if Israel goes ahead with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's U.S.-backed plan to withdraw troops and settlers.
Egypt is also trying to mediate a cease-fire with Israel.
But Egyptian help depends on Palestinian security reforms that would mean Arafat ceding some powers as well as on agreement from armed factions wary of Cairo's role in a territory held by Egypt until the 1967 Middle East war.
"We have two months to issue decisions, make necessary security reforms and security appointments and advance the dialogue between factions," Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie told Reuters. "After that, security experts from Egypt will arrive."
Egypt, ready to send up to 200 trainers to Gaza, has not said what it will do if reforms fail. Arafat has resisted previous calls for change that would cost him influence, but repeated on Wednesday that he welcomed the Egyptian offer.
The Egyptians want Arafat to unify at least a dozen security forces into just three and also hand over some powers to Qurie.
Promises
"Arafat has given promises but has not taken any action on the ground," said one Palestinian official.
From the West Bank city of Ramallah, Suleiman dashed to nearby Jerusalem to meet Israeli leaders -- though not Sharon.
Israeli officials welcome an Egyptian presence in Gaza, but say they are not ready to agree a total cease-fire there and are uneasy at reports the Egyptians would like international forces stationed in Gaza.
Having ruled out negotiations with the Palestinians for now, Sharon also emphasized on Wednesday that he had no intention of letting the Egyptians restart talks through the back door.
"We see enormous importance in the Egyptian involvement in Gaza and on the border," Sharon was quoted as saying by Army Radio. "But I have no intention of enabling the Egyptians to hold a position as mediator."
In Cairo, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns backed Egypt's initiative after meeting officials there.
"We're confident that we are going to be able to make progress," he said.
Sharon's plan to remove all 21 settlements from the Gaza Strip and four of 120 from the West Bank won cabinet approval in principle this month, but the removal of Jewish enclaves still needs another vote in March.
Medics said Israeli troops killed a Palestinian in Gaza on Wednesday. The army said it had shot a gunman. Palestinian security sources said the 22-year-old man was a farmer. The army said it killed the bodyguard of an Islamic Jihad militant during an operation to arrest him the West Bank city of Nablus.
