Published: July 10, 2007
Abbas wants international force in Gaza
RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 10 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that an international force should be deployed in Gaza to protect the area's residents. Hamas, which controls Gaza, has said that it would regard any international troops as occupiers, Alalam Satellite TV reported. Abbas met Tuesday with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Prodi said that all parties involved, presumably including Hamas, would have to support the deployment of an international force. We have insisted on the necessity of deploying an international force in the Gaza Strip to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid and to allow citizens to enter and leave freely, Abbas said at a news conference with Prodi in Ramallah.
Abbas said that 4,000 people are waiting at the Rafah Crossing into Egypt, trying to leave Gaza and at least 11 people have died there.
