Arafat Accepts Egypt's Security Demands-Officials
Yasser Arafat told Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak he accepted his demand for Palestinian security reforms as a condition for Egypt to help stabilize Gaza if Israelis withdraw, officials said Monday. The Palestinian president was responding by letter to Egypt’s mid-June deadline to agree to security overhauls or risk losing Cairo’s offer to promote order in Gaza after a pullout, which the Israeli cabinet approved in principle Sunday. “Arafat has accepted the Egyptian ideas and is now awaiting the Israeli response. This will help the Egyptians take steps to retrain our police force and send their security experts to the Palestinian areas,” a senior Palestinian official told Reuters. Full Story