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While so much else is going on, underway is an American-Israeli plan to further occupy the Palestinians with a NATO force controlled by the Americans on behalf of the Israelis:<br><br>"Canadian Ambassador to Israel Michael Bell said that Ottawa is now busy preparing a framework for positioning foreign forces in areas Israel relinquishes, and reestablishing a civil administration in the West Bank and Gaza. Bell briefed the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry on the issues. He came away with the impression that while the officials were skeptical, they understand that when Israel decides to quit the territories-with or without an agreement-both sides won't be able to allow a security vacuum. Nobody knows the problem better than IDF officers who ordered the destruction of the Palestinian security forces and executed that order. They know better than anyone just how shaky the Palestinian police stations and prisons have become. In the IDF Planning Branch they don't know whether to laugh or cry whenever they hear a politician demanding the Palestinian Authority "fight terror." Bell says that when the time comes, the international presence in the territories will have to receive the official stamp of the Security Council. He believes there will be no alternative but to send a relatively large armed force, which will be authorized to use its weapons on the basis of its best judgment. The best model, Bell says, is a NATO force under U.S. command. He emphasizes that both sides must agree on the format." (Ha'aretz, 12/3/02)
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