Egypt makes Hamas deal on Israeli withdrawal, says newspaper

1.00pm

CAIRO - Egypt has reached an agreement with Palestinian militant group Hamas on guaranteeing Palestinian unity following any Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday.

Egypt fears anarchy could follow any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and allow Islamist groups to take over the strip.

The semi-official al-Ahram daily said the agreement regarded "supporting Palestinian national unity and the arrangements related to guaranteeing the integrity of the Palestinian house in the period after the Israeli withdrawal."

Egypt would reach a similar agreement with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction and continue its efforts for agreement with the rest of the Palestinian factions, al-Ahram said.

A Palestinian power struggle has broken out over Arafat's inaction on demands for anti-corruption reforms.

Gaza has been the focus of the unrest as factions jockey for the upper hand in anticipation of a vacuum after Israel leaves. But the strife has only involved factions within Fatah, with Islamist rivals such as Hamas looking on for now.

Hamas leaders last week in Cairo discussed Egypt's offer of a security role in Gaza in the event of an Israeli withdrawal.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon plans to withdraw troops and settlers from Gaza and withdraw from four of 120 West Bank settlements.

Al-Ahram also said Egypt had asked the Palestinian Authority to nominate 45 officers to send for training in Cairo as part of efforts to make the Palestinian security forces able to impose law and order in the Palestinian territories after any Israeli withdrawal.

Egypt has already offered to send up to 200 security advisers to Gaza to train the Palestinian police force.

Al-Ahram also said it had learnt that an agreement in principle had been reached between Israel and Egypt by which Egyptian border guards instead of police would patrol their country's border with Gaza.

Under a peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979, Cairo can only deploy civilian police armed with light weapons near the border with Israel.

The deployment of border police would not require any talks on adjusting the peace deal, al-Ahram said. Egypt ruled Gaza from 1948 to 1967, when Israel captured it in a war with its Arab neighbours.

- REUTERS