Originally published Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 12:00 AM
U.S. plans to finance training for Palestinian security forces
The United States is planning to spend millions of dollars to train Palestinian security forces as part of a renewed effort to strengthen...
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The United States is planning to spend millions of dollars to train Palestinian security forces as part of a renewed effort to strengthen Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
American, Palestinian and Israeli officials said Monday they're fine-tuning a proposal that would send thousands of Palestinian forces loyal to Abbas to neighboring Jordan and Egypt for advanced training.
The initiative is intended to provide Abbas with critical support in his political and military confrontation with the well-armed Hamas hard-liners who've controlled the Palestinian Authority since elections early last year.
The militant Islamist Hamas and Abbas' Fatah faction have fought in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.
But there's disagreement over whether to provide Abbas' forces with arms. Critics have charged that military aid could end up fueling, not containing, the street fighting, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives.
A senior Bush administration official said the $86 million in security assistance for the Palestinians that the White House is requesting from Congress would be confined to nonlethal items, such as training. But Brig. Gen. Majed Faraj, the head of military intelligence for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, said, "If they want to train the forces but not equip them, then there's no point in training them."
Meanwhile, the two sides will gather today in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in what could be a final attempt to form a unity government.
Information from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 10:11 AM
GM exits bankruptcy; CEO vows better performance
UPDATE - 10:48 AM
Obama and pope meet for first time
UPDATE - 11:33 AM
Obama plane emergency could have been a disaster
UPDATE - 10:48 AM
Cemetery workers made $300K in gravedigging scheme
Up to 22 Taliban killed in central Afghanistan

Gen. David Petraeus: Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Watch highlights of General David Petraeus discussing the Iraq and Afghanistan War at the Global Leadership Series sponsored by the World Affairs Council.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs


Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
What not to wear to work this summer
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
- Chase won't pay for Seattle's Lake Union fireworks next year
- Mariners Blog | Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik again declines to quell Yuniesky Betancourt trade rumors
- Lawmaker says CIA director ended secret program
- The end of the light-line line, for now: Tukwila's "Taj Mahal" station
- Driver killed, deputy and prisoner injured in head-on crash near Monroe
- Cocoa plant where worked died didn't have license
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
576 - Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners: 07/09 game thread
243 - Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik again declines to quell Yuniesky Betancourt trade rumors
183 - Chase won't pay for next year's Lake Union fireworks
162 - World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
129 - Deals involving Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez not automatically related
90 - House Dems want to expand secret briefings
82 - The end of the line, for now: Tukwila is the jewel in the crown of Link
80 - Franklin Gutierrez bails Mariners out in a 3-1 win
77 - Chase will longer sponsor Lake Union fireworks
57
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- Group hopes to build 75-megawatt solar park near Cle Elum
- Grab the kids and hop on Amtrak for a stress-free getaway to Portland
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- During financial crisis, the business of college sports is complicated by Title IX
- Cocoa plant where worked died didn't have license
- Local Smith & Hawken garden stores to close
- Lavender tour on Vashon Island leads round of festivals






