[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Katz - The U.S. is reviewing the feasibility of deploying a NATO force in the West Bank as a way to ease IDF security concerns and facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the area, defense officials say. The plan, spearheaded by U.S. special envoy to the region Gen. James Jones, is being floated among European countries which could be asked to contribute troops to a West Bank multinational force. An official close to Defense Minister Barak said the deployment of such a force could create operational challenges for the IDF if it decided to respond to Palestinian terror attacks following a withdrawal. "If they fire a Kassam rocket into Israel, will we be able to respond, or will we need to rely on the foreign troops stationed there?" one defense official asked. On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones told a meeting in Jerusalem of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that it would take several years before any such plan was implemented.
2008-02-20 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive