Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Tuesday that he would withdraw his forces from West Bank cities unless Israel's military halted its frequent raids into these areas. Such a step would be a serious setback to US-backed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and perhaps even signal that Abbas is giving up on trying to reach a deal. Parallel to negotiations with Israel, Abbas has been trying to exert more control in the West Bank and to rein in militants. At the same time, the international community is training Abbas' forces, with hopes they will one day take over from Israel, which occupies the West Bank. In recent months, Abbas has deployed forces in two of the unruliest towns, Nablus and Jenin, and residents once harassed by vigilante gunmen say they feel more secure. However, Israel's military argues that the Palestinian forces often coopt former gunmen, instead of jailing them. Despite the presence of the Palestinian forces, Israeli troops have continued raiding Palestinian cities, prompting complaints by Abbas that this is undermining him. On Tuesday, Abbas met with legislators from his Fatah movement, and was asked what he plans to do about the frequent Israeli raids. Abbas is to meet Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, one of their regular sessions, and said he would bring up the issue. “We are going to tell the Israelis the day after tomorrow that if the incursions and the aggression and the insults to the Palestinian police continue, we will withdraw these (Palestinian) forces,” Abbas said. His comments were carried by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA and confirmed by an aide, as well as a participant in the meeting, Fatah legislator Najah Abu Bakr. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev would only say that Israel supports efforts to strengthen the Palestinian security forces. He did not respond to Abbas' warning. Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have made little progress, and a year-end target for a peace deal appears increasingly out of reach. Abbas and his aides have been complaining with growing frequency about Israeli actions they say violate the letter and the spirit of the talks. “There are many obstacles in the path of negotiations, most importantly settlement expansion, roadblocks and daily incursions into West Bank cities,” Abbas said Tuesday, according to WAFA.
