Some 40 Palestinian police officers will go to Egypt for training next week as part of Egypt's contribution to the new security arrangements in Gaza, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said on Saturday. The training for Palestinian police officers has been under discussion for months and almost took place late last year but the officers were unable to cross the border into Egypt.Egypt will also receive delegations from the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to coax into a truce with Israel, he told Reuters by telephone after talks between Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Under an earlier plan, Egypt had offered to host a dialogue between the Palestinian Authority and the militants but Shaath said that would no longer be necessary. "We have concluded really the agreement with them but Egypt needs to support that agreement and continue to monitor and so we are happy that they are going to do that," he added.
Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, has tried to end attacks on Israelis by deploying Palestinian security forces more widely in the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded by reducing its military operations in the area. Shaath said this cleared the way for Egypt to carry out its part in the Gaza security plan, including the training. "They (the Egyptians) will implement what has been agreed before. The training will start immediately, in the first week of February, with probably 42 officers," he said.
"So things are going well and President Mubarak is very pleased with our progress," he added.