Newsgroup: it.cultura.militare
Titolo: Israel OKs armored vehicles for Abbas

Israel OKs armored vehicles for Abbas 
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has approved a shipment of armored vehicles and
guns to help Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fight militant groups in
the West Bank, Israeli officials said Wednesday, in an effort to bolster
the moderate leader ahead of a Mideast conference next week.
In another show of support for the Palestinians, Israel will allow
strawberry and flower exports from the Gaza Strip to resume, in the hopes
of improving the economic situation for the 1.5 million Palestinians
living there, Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon said Wednesday.
Since the Hamas militant group took control of Gaza last June, Israel has
blocked almost all exports from the area.
Israel and the Palestinians on Tuesday received long-awaited invitations
to a U.S. conference, where they are expected to relaunch formal
negotiations on a final peace agreement. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
Tuesday that a peace deal with the Palestinians was possible as early as
next year.
Israel's decision to allow a Russian shipment of armored vehicles — along
with 1,000 rifles and 2 million rounds of ammunition — came despite what
security officials said was opposition from Israel's army and the
country's internal Shin Bet security service.
Security officials said they fear the vehicles and weapons will fall into
the hands of Hamas. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
of security concerns.
A Hamas spokesman, Sami Au Zuhri, said the Israeli decision proved Abbas
was working "hand in hand with the occupation against (Palestinian)
resistance."
"Hamas will remain committed to fight against the occupation and will not
give up," Abu Zuhri said.
During its takeover of Gaza, the Islamic group expelled Fatah forces loyal
to Abbas and captured large quantities of weapons supplied to Fatah by the
United States and others with Israeli approval.
Since losing Gaza, Abbas and Fatah have been locked in a so-far quiet
struggle with Hamas over control of the West Bank. Israel still has large
numbers of troops in the West Bank that back Fatah, giving Abbas the upper
hand there. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
Russia proposed shipping the armored vehicles to Palestinian security
forces two years ago, but the deal was stalled because of Israeli
opposition. No timeframe was given for arrival of the vehicles or
munitions.
The leader of the opposition Likud Party, Benjamin Netanyahu, objected to
the deal, saying Abbas was not strong enough to receive weapons. "We will
one day see Hamas sitting on the armored vehicles, firing at us,"
Netanyahu told Army Radio.
The Hamas takeover led to an Israeli ban on exports from Gaza, which the
area's 40,000 farmers have repeatedly demanded be lifted. Simchon's
announcement that flower and strawberry shipments will resume will bring
in at least $14 million for farmers, the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce
said.
Israel also has halted imports to Gaza, except for food and humanitarian
goods. Simchon said Israel will further ease trade with the area in the
near future.
The Israeli decisions were meant to improve trust ahead of next week's
conference, where the sides are expected to renew peace talks for the
first time in seven years.
Abbas received his invitation during a meeting Tuesday with U.S. consul
Jacob Walles, Walles said. Olmert's office later said Israel also had been
invited.
After a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday in the
Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Olmert pledged to follow the peace
conference in Annapolis with serious negotiations on all the outstanding
issues.
The U.S. has been pushing the sides to endorse a joint document laying out
their vision for peace ahead of the conference.
Negotiators say they have made little progress, casting a cloud over the
summit. But Olmert on Tuesday offered an optimistic view of peace
prospects with the Palestinians.
"I very much hope we can reach this agreement in the course of 2008,"
Olmert said in a news conference with Mubarak. However, Olmert also
signaled that carrying out any peace deal would have to wait until Abbas
regains control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas.
Olmert's one-day trip to Egypt came ahead of a meeting in Cairo Friday of
the Arab League, where Arab governments will decide whether to attend the
conference.
Arab participation is considered critical for the summit's success, and
the states have been reluctant to commit over concern Israel is not
serious about addressing the core issues of its conflict with the
Palestinians.
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