On the eve of a key visit by an Egyptian mediator, Palestinian officials sent conflicting signals on Tuesday on how much involvement they will accept from their neighbor after an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Egypt and the Palestinians have a historically uneasy relationship, and Egypt's proposed role in securing Gaza -- once ruled by Cairo -- has many Palestinians worried they'll be replacing one occupation with another.
Egypt demands that in preparation for an Israeli withdrawal, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat restructure his tangled security forces and relinquish some control over them. It also wants to send 200 military advisers to Gaza to retrain Palestinian security forces.
PHOTO: EPA
Palestinians are wary. An Arafat ally said on Tuesday that Egypt shouldn't meddle or press for security reform, and Palestinian militants angrily rejected any planned Egyptian security role in Gaza. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath tried to soften the rare criticism by saying Cairo's help is welcome.
Further complicating matters, Israel is resisting an Egyptian demand that it halt military activities in Gaza after the advisers arrive there, an Israeli official said on condition of anonymity. However, Israel expects to be able to reach a compromise on the matter, the official said.
With Israel shunning the Palestinians as unreliable negotiating partners, Egypt -- fearing chaos on its border with Gaza -- has been trying to ensure order there after a pullout, planned for next year. The latest dispute threatens those efforts and leaves Gaza's future uncertain.
Egypt has a rocky history with the Palestinians. It took little responsibility for the Palestinians in Gaza when it ruled the region before Israel captured it in 1967 and worked to keep Palestinian refugees out of the country. That did not prevent Egyptian leaders from using the Palestinian cause to try to galvanize the Arab world behind its leadership.
But as the most influential Arab country at peace with Israel, it is now a key broker in the region.
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was to hold talks in Jerusalem yesterday with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz. Afterward, he was to head to Ramallah to meet with Arafat.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
RSS