PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas told US lawmakers he wants a US-led NATO force to provide security for the future 'Palestinian state.'
by Gavriel Queenann
Published: 12/08/11, 1:40 PM
Mahmoud Abbas
Official Photo
Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas told visiting US Congressmen on Thursday he wants the security of a future PA state to be handed to NATO under US command, the Maan news agency reportedFriday.
The PA state must also be "empty of settlements," Abbas said, according to official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA.
Members of the US Congress and Senate delegation, headed by Democrat Senator Steny Hoyer, met with Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday, and quizzed Abbas on Israel's designation as a Jewish state, the status of refugees, and reconciliation between Abbas' Fatah party and rival Hamas, Presidential adviser Nimir Hamad said.
Abbas reiterated the Palestinian Authority's well-known positions on these matters, Hammad added, and specified that security responsibility for the Palestinian Authority would be handled by a third party, suggesting the US-Europe military alliance NATO.
In September 2010, Abbas outlined his government's acceptance of international forces from NATO or similar to the UNIFIL force operating in southern Lebanon playing a role in PA security, as long as forces did not include one single Israeli, whether from the civilian population or the military.
Abbas is currently pursuing a unilateral recognition of PA statehood based on pre-1967 lines at the United Nations in September.
NOTE:
Has Abbas lost all sense of reality? Or, perhaps a better question would be "Has Abbas lost his mind?" This is what happens when a U.S. president bows to Saudi Kings and without first thinking of the consequences involved, gives the PA's a "false" hope! This is what happens when the Secretary of State allows the PLO/PA's to fly their flag in Washington, DC! ....
When a new president is elected, the Obama logo will disappear and so will the PLO/PA flag in Washington, DC!
