Abbas calls for international force

The Palestinian president wants them deployed in Gaza during early elections.

Hamas has said it will treat any international force
as an occupying force [Reuters]

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has called for international forces to be deployed in Gaza to ensure security during early elections.

It comes after Hamas drove their opposite numbers Fatah from the Gaza Strip and took control during savage fighting last month.

Hamas, though, vigorously opposes the calls for international involvement and says it would treat any such troops as an occupying force.

Would Abbas’s plan help to unify Palestinians, or drive them further apart?

Inside Story investigates.

Watch Inside Story at 17:30GMT on Al Jazeera English

This episode of Inside Story aired on 01 July 2007

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