The Bush administration is preparing with European allies to help the Palestinian Authority organize January elections and improve its security forces to crack down on terrorism, US officials and diplomats said on Sunday, The New York Times (11/14) reports.
The immediate priority, they said, is getting funding, monitors and technical assistance to the Palestinians for the January 9 presidential elections to choose a successor to Yassir Arafat, who died last week.
President Bush is reconsidering redirecting millions of dollars in US funding to nongovernmental organizations to help prepare for the elections and provide other support. As much as 75 million dollars already is in the pipeline for Palestinian programs, and a portion of that could be used for the elections, congressional aides said. Bush could also waive existing congressional restrictions and provide US aid directly to the
Palestinians.
The United States also is pressing Israel for steps that would make it easier to hold elections, such as pulling Israeli security forces back from certain Palestinian population centers, officials said.
The presence of Israeli forces, and whether Israel will allow Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem, could dominate talks in Washington on Monday between Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Besides election preparations, plans being drawn up by the Bush
administration and its European allies are expected to include a new assessment of how to help Palestinians reconstruction and development.
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority could receive money from a World Bank trust fund — and from some countries directly — as reforms are implemented. Officials said the effort would be spearheaded through the Middle East mediation Quartet, which is made up of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia. The group could meet as early as November 22-23.
Kilde: Verdensbankens presseoversigt
