The Hindu : U.S. troops to guard militants?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

International

International

U.S. troops to guard militants?

By Kesava Menon

Manama (Bahrain) April 28. The Israeli Cabinet today met to decide whether to allow a U.N. fact-finding mission to investigate what the Palestinians say was a massacre at the Jenin refugee camp. During the meeting, the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, dropped a bomb-shell by informing his colleagues that the U.S. President, George W. Bush had offered to send U.S. or British troops to guard the Palestinian militants currently lodged in the Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat's Ramallah compound. (Agency reports say Israel has agreed to the U.S. plan.)

A decision on the U.N. fact-finding mission needs to be taken quickly as Israel's standing in the international community is at stake. But in the recent past, Israel has reverted to its traditional foreign policy of worrying about only what the U.S. administration thinks while ignoring the opinion of the rest of the world. In such a context, the U.S. President's message should be considered more urgent by Israel. But the U.S. offer, of sending in foreign troops to perform certain duties in the Palestinian territories, could be considered by Israel as the thin edge of the wedge. The Palestinians and other Arabs nations have time and again called for the stationing of an international peacekeeping force in the territories. Israel is vehemently opposed to the idea and has only reluctantly gone along with the U.S. compromise idea (an idea not yet implemented) of having unarmed foreign monitors instead.

According to the U.S. proposal, said by Mr. Sharon to have been put forward during a telephone conversation with the U.S. President yesterday, U.S. or British troops will be sent to guard the five Palestinians wanted by Israel who are currently in Mr. Arafat's compound. Four of these men, accused of involvement in the murder of Israel's Tourism Minister, Rehavam Zeevi, a few months ago, have been tried by a Palestinian military tribunal and sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment. Israel insists that these men should be handed over for trial in Israeli courts and have refused to lift their siege of Mr. Arafat's compound till they are extradited.

On the U.N. fact-finding front, Israel has asked for yet another day's delay in the arrival of the commission which is to investigate what actually happened in the Jenin refugee camp. The U.N. has acceded to Israel's request that the soldiers and officials who testify before the commission will not face prosecution. But Israel now says that it, and not the U.N. body, will decide who is to testify before the commission. A decision on the matter might be taken only tomorrow.

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