A clear sign that the move by Sharon to 'cut ties' with Abbas was in fact simply to motivate Abbas into action. Hardball diplomacy, Middle East-style.
Sharon is many things, but he's no fool.
Quote:
Israel Accepts Palestinian Police Plan
Israeli officials accepted a Palestinian plan to deploy hundreds of police officers along the Gaza-Israel frontier starting Friday, in the first act of security cooperation with Israel under Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian generals presented the plan during a meeting with their Israeli counterparts late Wednesday, convened in a last-ditch effort to avert an Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
The meeting was a sign of success by Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in defusing their first crisis -- though the situation remains highly volatile and renewed rocket fire by Palestinian militants could trigger major violence. Only last week, Sharon announced he was boycotting the Palestinian leadership to protest what Israel said was Abbas' lack of determination to rein in militants.
Abbas has been holding talks with leaders of militant groups in Gaza since Tuesday, and his aides said he was edging closer to a truce deal with them. The militants say they are ready to halt attacks, provided Israel stops military operations -- a promise Israel has refused to make.
In the security meeting late Wednesday, Palestinian generals presented a detailed plan for stopping rocket fire and infiltrations of Palestinian militants into Israel.
``We told them (Israeli generals) that we are arranging a plan to deploy the Palestinian security forces into both the northern and southern parts of Gaza,'' Maj. Gen. Moussa Arafat, a Palestinian security chief, told The Associated Press on Thursday. ``In the first stage, it will be in the north, and then we will move into the south.''
Israeli officials said up to 1,000 Palestinian officers would be deployed, and that Israel accepted the plan. ``We are facilitating it and coordinating it (the plan), so it will go forward,'' one official said on condition of anonymity.
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NYTimes