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SLUG: 2-324915 Israel / Palestinians (L-O)
DATE: NOTE NUMBER: |
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DATE=5/28/2005 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS (L-O) NUMBER=2-324915 BYLINE=ROBERT BERGER DATELINE= JERUSALEM CONTENT= VOICED AT: HEADLINE: Palestinians to Insure Peaceful Israeli Pullout from Gaza INTRO: The Palestinian Authority is beefing up its forces in the Gaza Strip to clear the way for a smooth transition of power when Israel withdraws in a few months. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem. TEXT: Palestinian security forces have begun recruiting five thousand extra policemen in the Gaza Strip, to insure a peaceful Israeli pullout from the area this summer. The new recruits will not be armed because after more than four years of conflict, Israel is restricting the flow of weapons into Gaza. Under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's so called "disengagement" plan, 21 Gaza settlements will be dismantled beginning in mid-August, and 85 hundred settlers will be evacuated. It was originally a unilateral move, but following the death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Mr. Sharon wants to coordinate the pullout with the Palestinian Authority. /// SHARON ACT //// "The successful coordination of the disengagement plan will allow us to embark on a new era of trust and build our relations with the Palestinian Authority." /// END ACT //// The beefing up of the Palestinian police force is a response to that appeal. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says a smooth Israeli pullout would strengthen moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen. /// EREKAT ACT /// "See, if Abu Mazen, if President Abbas, can stand up to the Palestinians and tell them we're going to deliver you outside of this occupation towards freedom and independence and your independent state through peaceful means, and if you use violence you will hurt your cause, I think he can deliver." /// END ACT //// Israel has warned the Palestinian Authority that attacks by militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad could complicate and delay the withdrawal. (SIGNED) NEB/RB/RH |
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