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Death Rattle of Another Mideast Plan
[San Francisco Chronicle] Matthew Kalman - Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton has joined a growing line of American mediators who have come up with intelligent and far-reaching security plans for the Palestinians, only to see their blueprints mown down in a barrage of automatic weapons fire. Dayton's benchmarks, circulated to Israeli and Palestinian leaders last month, called for a phased easing of restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and their goods, the removal of Israeli checkpoints, and the opening of a safe passage across Israel from Gaza to the West Bank. Israel was also to supply weapons and equipment to security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinians were to stop smuggling weapons, explosives and ammunition across the Gaza-Egypt border and to stop firing rockets at Israeli towns from Gaza. Dayton's plan - like those of his well-meaning predecessors - makes sense on paper, yet has proved to be far detached from the grim reality on the ground.