Gaza City, Gaza Strip – Palestinian negotiators said Sunday they want Israel to allow movement in and out of the Gaza Strip after its withdrawal from the territory this summer, and suggested international monitors could control borders to allay Israel’s security concerns.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said that before he travels to the United States in May, he might meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Bush administration has urged Israelis and Palestinians to do more to coordinate the Gaza pullout, initially envisioned by Israel as a unilateral move.
Abbas went from the West Bank to Gaza on Sunday, a day after appointing three new security chiefs, another step in his internal reform program. The new chiefs are veterans, but with the appointments, Abbas has streamlined the unwieldy security apparatus, cutting down the number of branches to three.
Israel’s plan of “unilateral disengagement” from Gaza and four West Bank settlements says border arrangements will remain in place.
Israel fears free movement would enable militants to smuggle weapons into Gaza and launch attacks on Israel from Gaza. Palestinian militants have repeatedly dug tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border to smuggle weapons.
Israel currently controls all crossings in and out of Gaza – the Rafah terminal linking Gaza and Egypt, as well as the Karni, Kissufim and Erez crossings into Israel. During more than four years of fighting, Israel has imposed stringent travel restrictions on Gazans.
The Palestinians fear that after Israel evacuates 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and withdraws its troops, it will isolate the 140-square-mile strip with 1.3 million Palestinian residents. Gaza is surrounded by a heavily fortified fence.
Palestinian negotiators said Sunday that Israel must allow free movement in and out of Gaza, relinquish control of the Rafah crossing and establish a “safe passage” between Gaza and the West Bank.
The Palestinian national security adviser, Jibril Rajoub, suggested the Palestinians might refuse to coordinate the withdrawal if the demands were rejected.
