U.S. to give Abbas forces $86 mln amid power struggle
Source: Reuters
(Adds comments by Erekat, Haniyeh) By Adam Entous JERUSALEM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Bush administration will provide $86 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expanding U.S. involvement in his struggle with Hamas, according to documents seen Friday. Fighting between Abbas's Fatah faction and Hamas, the ruling Islamist group, has surged since talks on forming a unity government collapsed and Abbas called for early parliamentary and presidential elections. The U.S. money will be used to "assist the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the road map (peace plan) to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza", according to a U.S. government document obtained by Reuters. It said Lieutenant-General Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator between Israel and the Palestinians, would implement the programme "to strengthen and reform elements of the Palestinian security sector controlled by the PA presidency". Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri accused Washington of helping to mount a "coup" against the Hamas-led government. "We demand that President Abbas reject this American policy, which feeds the culture of divisions among the Palestinian people," he said. Asked about the U.S. money, senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said: "I have no knowledge of this." The money, subject to congressional approval, will provide Abbas's presidential guard with training and non-lethal equipment, including vehicles and uniforms, people familiar with the plan said. Israeli officials said Washington had already helped to organise shipments of guns and ammunition to the guard from Egypt and Jordan, and that the latest was made last week. CLASHES INTENSIFY Clashes between armed units loyal to Hamas and Fatah have increased in recent days. Six people were killed in factional fighting on Thursday alone. The money for the presidential guard was initially earmarked for U.S. aid programmes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but those programmes were "cancelled or suspended after Hamas took power earlier this year", the U.S. document said. Officials familiar with the plan said the money would not be used to pay the salaries of members of the guard. Abbas's presidential guard has about 3,700 members. With aid from the United States and its allies, Abbas hopes to expand it to 4,700 members in 12 to 18 months. Palestinian sources said it could grow to 10,000 members. Hamas says its own "Executive Force" has nearly 6,000 members and will also be expanded. Hamas receives funding from Iran and other Islamist allies. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas brushed aside calls by Fatah and some other factions for the "Executive Force" to be disbanded. "This is a purely government official affair and no unofficial party should tackle this issue," he told reporters. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit the region for talks with Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other leaders. Israeli officials said she was likely to arrive next weekend. Israel has been under U.S. and European pressure to help Abbas in the run-up to possible early elections. Olmert has allowed arms shipments to reach Abbas's presidential guard in Gaza, and agreed to transfer $100 million in withheld tax revenues to the Palestinian president. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has been talking to U.S. officials about a proposal to declare a Palestinian state with temporary borders within a two-year timeframe, Israeli officials said. Abbas has repeatedly rejected the idea of setting temporary borders for a Palestinian state. Palestinians fear any provisional borders will become final borders, leaving them with a truncated state. (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)
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