Talk of deploying international troops divides Palestinians
Recent talk of a suggestion to deploy international troops in the Palestinian territories has sparked angry reactions from many in the Gaza Strip, although some in the Palestinian Authority support the idea.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During a meeting in Sydney with the Australian foreign minister Feb. 25, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provoked much anger among Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip with his alleged statements on the Australian proposal to deploy international forces in the Palestinian territories to confront what Netanyahu called “terrorism.”
An anonymous source close to Netanyahu denied that the prime minister made such statements in a Feb. 26 interview with Israeli radio station Reshet Bet. The source said that the proposal to deploy international troops was made by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and that Netanyahu rejected such a proposal, especially with regard to the deployment of international forces in the West Bank.
The source said, quoting Netanyahu, that the “solution to the Palestinian case would lie in Israel’s full control of the Palestinian areas, granting Palestinians partial sovereignty.”
Israel’s Channel 2 reported Feb. 26 that Netanyahu said during his Sydney meeting that it would be a possibility to deploy international forces only to the Gaza Strip.
