News comes that the Palestinian Authority is demanding Israel accept the establishment of a standing Palestinian army as a term in the peace negotiations taking place between the two countries. Previous accords had made clear the new Palestinian state was to be demilitarized, leaving the Israeli negotiators frustrated with the new terms.
Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni expressed her concern : "We are talking about a demilitarized state here (...) we will not stand for a terror state or an extremist Islamist state. There are conditions that will have to be met, before and after. I don't hold by just tossing the keys over the border and hoping for the best. There will be no agreement over the future territory if there won't be satisfactory assurances regarding what its nature will be." Of course one must only wonder what roll Iran would play in establishing this army.
The news comes as Israel Defense forces announced the arrest of an Iranian-trained terrorist in Gaza with links to mortar attacks and who was reportedly preparing for a suicide mission. The arrest, officials say, is evidence of the undeniable link between Iran and terrorist activities in the Middle East. Israeli officials believe that thousands of Palestinians have traveled overseas to Iran, Syria and Lebanon for military training in recent years.
Such evidence seems, of course, unnecessary given the rhetoric coming from Tehran these days. As President Bush wrapped up his visit to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters , "Bush came to the region to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Palestine's occupation and the anniversary of 60 years of crimes, terror, occupation and destruction" of the people of Palestine. He continued, "The disgusting and humiliating approaches adopted by President Bush have damaged the status and dignity of the American people worldwide....The US government cannot change the nations and their values but it should, instead, try to distance itself from medieval culture and find a better understanding from the modern world situation."
