Egypt & israel

israel is going to have egypt train gaza police..

i don't get it, i really don't...

okay first off, egypt and israel do have a peace agreement, but that doesn't prevent the egyptian government from issuing extreme views on jews any chance it gets by al-ahram, its gov mouthpiece

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/index.htm the funny thing is that israel trusts egypt enough to have its own security personnel in the gaza strip to train the gaza security forces...even after tunnels have been found linking egypt and gaza for the purposes of smuggling arms to hamas.

what's going here? is it possible that for all intents and purposes that egypt has high level and cordial relations w/ israel but keeps its population in its permanent 2 minutes of hate just for letting off steam because of egypts' dreadful conditions? this stuff is always a mystery to me....egypt has also recently pushed arafat into relinquishing total control of the Palestinian Authority...so that a real peace accord can be negotiated with the new pm of the PA.

could be related to the 250 mill USD increase in egyptian aid the US just approved....on top of their already hefty 2 bill USD aid package.

all just speculation...its all a mystery to all but a few.

Meetings Explore Egyptian Aid to Israeli on Gaza Withdrawal
By GREG MYRE

Published: June 7, 2004


CAIRO, June 7 — Despite strained relations in recent years, Israel and Egypt have stepped up high-level contacts and are trying to carve out a role for the Egyptian security forces that would assist Israel with its proposed withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, was host to Israel's foreign minister, Silvan Shalom, today, their third meeting in the past six months. Both men expressed support for a plan to increase Egypt's security deployment along its border with Gaza, and to send Egyptian police into Gaza itself to help train their Palestinian counterparts, according to Israeli officials.

In the past, the prospect of any Arab forces edging closer to Israel would have set off alarm bells in Israel's security establishment.

But Israel's hawkish prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has proposed the measures as a way to help stabilize Gaza if he proceeds with a plan to evacuate Israeli settlers, and most soldiers, from the volatile coastal territory.

Egypt and Israel have not reached any agreements yet, and Mr. Sharon's withdrawal plan still faces many obstacles. He won cabinet backing on Sunday to begin preparing for a possible pullout. But he faces more bruising battles with hardliners, and the government will have to vote again, probably next year, to approve the actual evacuation of Jewish settlements.

Still, Mr. Sharon's pursuit of Egyptian security assistance in Gaza marks a new approach, and so far, the Egyptians appear receptive.

"I've said more than once during the last year that it looks like Egypt has taken a strategic decision to have better relations with Israel and play a key role in the region," Mr. Shalom told a news conference in Cairo. "We are working very closely with Egyptian authorities to impose law and order in Gaza."