Friday, December 29, 2006
Fighting between the Hamas and Fatah factions has left 17 people dead.
JERUSALEM (AP) -- With Israel's blessing, Egypt has delivered a large arms shipment to forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, officials said Thursday -- the latest Israeli attempt to boost the embattled leader in his bloody conflict with the militant Islamic Hamas.
Though there has been a weeklong hiatus in armed clashes, Palestinians fear the heavily armed security forces of Hamas, which runs the Palestinian government, and Fatah could erupt in violence at any time.
Israel has been trying to reinforce Abbas' standing among his people. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Abbas is a partner for negotiations -- unlike Hamas, which rejects the existence of Israel and refuses to renounce violence.
Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official, told Israel Radio the military assistance was rendered to reinforce the "forces of peace" against the "forces of darkness" threatening the region, a reference to Islamic extremists.
Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Abbas, issued a statement denying any arms deal. However, at midday Thursday, witnesses saw a truck belonging to the pro-Fatah National Security force carrying what appeared to be sealed boxes of weapons.
When the truck attempted to make a quick detour, one box fell onto the ground, scattering a pile of automatic guns on the road, the witnesses said. Security men in the truck quickly got out and collected the weapons.
Israel approved the transfer of 2,000 automatic rifles, 20,000 ammunition clips and 2 million bullets on Wednesday, Israeli officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the shipment had not been officially confirmed by Israel, the Palestinians or Egypt.
Ahmed Youssef, a political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said Egyptian officials had assured him no arms were sent. He accused Israel of spreading false rumors about an arms shipment in "an attempt to increase tensions among the Palestinians."
Seventeen people have died in this month's Hamas-Fatah fighting, which included an assassination attempt on Haniyeh.
Heavy security
On Thursday, the prime minister left Gaza to resume a trip to Gulf states that had been cut short by the violence, which has since subsided. He was headed first to Saudi Arabia, then to Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, where he and Abbas have been invited by King Abdullah II for talks.
Some 5,000 Hamas militiamen, some on foot, others in jeeps, lined the roads as Haniyeh traveled from his base in Gaza City to the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Haniyeh's convoy came under fire at Rafah on Dec. 14 when he came back from his suspended trip, and the heavy security was a clear indication that concerns about his safety remained high.
Meanwhile, one of the Palestinian militant groups holding a captured Israeli soldier said progress has been made toward a prisoner exchange.
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, said Egyptian mediators are trying to finalize a deal. "We received positive signals from our Egyptian brothers, who are acting on this matter," he said. "Everything depends on the Israelis."
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