Mideast - AFP
Egypt agrees to help maintain security in Gaza Strip after Israel pullout
Date: Sat, May 29, 2004
CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt has agreed to a request from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) to help maintain security in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) if he carries out his plan to end the Israeli presence in the territory, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported Saturday.
The report said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) had told Sharon that Cairo was prepared to "send experts in all fields, notably security, to the Palestinian territories immediately to help the Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) assume its responsibilities in the matter of security."
MENA said that Sharon had informed Mubarak of his latest plan for a staged withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and its Jewish settlements, which still faces an uncertain passage through the Israeli cabinet.
He had asked Egypt to play "an effective role" in the operation, by helping "to install confidence between the two sides, notably in guaranteeing stability and security in the Gaza Strip and ending 'acts of violence and terrorism'", the report added.
Sharon singled out "the training and reorganisation of the Palestinian security services" and "strengthening cooperation between Israel and Egypt to ensure that their borders are safe."
Mubarak replied assuring Egypt's support for "any withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as laid down in the roadmap aimed at establishing a Palestinian state."
He added that "after consultation with the Palestinian Authority, Egypt has said it is prepared to make every effort to assist the authority to fulfill its commitment with regard to the roadmap."
Mubarak cited "the improvement of security in the Palestinian territories and in particular the Gaza Strip, and engagement in the necessary reforms enabling the authority to totally control the Palestinian territories, beginning with the areas that are to be evacuated."
In March Egypt said it was prepared to ensure the security of its borders with the Gaza Strip but would play no security role within the territory after an Israeli withdrawal.
Mubarak said more recently however that Cairo would be ready to train Palestinian policemen working in the Gaza Strip, which Egypt administered before its seizure by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
SOURCE
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