Putin Promises Palestinian Aid

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday his country would help rebuild Palestinian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip after Israel pulls out of Gaza this summer.

"If we are waiting for President Abbas to fight terrorism, he cannot do it with the resources he has now," Putin said during a joint news conference with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. "We will give the Palestinian Authority technical help by sending equipment, training people. We will give the Palestinian Authority helicopters and also communication equipment. We will bring Palestinian police for training."

Abbas said he would harshly confront militants who violated the Palestinians' fragile truce with Israel.

"To anyone who attempts to sabotage such agreements, we in the Palestinian Authority are responsible for security," he said. "We will confront them."

Palestinian security officials detained four militants for questioning after a barrage of mortar shells and homemade rockets were fired at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip this week despite a truce between the Palestinians and Israel, Palestinian security officials said Friday.

The four members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group linked to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah movement, were called in for questioning Thursday on suspicion they violated Palestinian commitments, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

Al Aqsa officials said they had not heard from the men since they were detained.

Putin is the first Kremlin leader to visit the West Bank, but his first gesture there ruffled some feathers in Israel, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger.

He laid a wreath on the tomb of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Putin bowed his head, and stood silently at attention. The homage to Arafat is a sore point in Israel, which considers him an arch terrorist and enemy of peace.

Privately, Israeli officials said Putin's gesture was a contradiction of his statements in Jerusalem Thursday, when he said that Israel and Russia should work together to fight terrorism.

Meanwhile, Abbas also said Friday he welcomed Putin's proposal to hold an international Mideast peace conference in Moscow in the fall.
Putin, on a three-day tour of the region, originally proposed the Mideast conference during a trip to Egypt on Wednesday. But Israel and the U.S. responded coolly to the idea, and Putin did not bring it up during his public appearances with Israeli leaders.

Palestinians had welcomed the conference, hoping it would put pressure on Israel to make concessions.

"We welcome the convening of an international peace conference," Abbas said during a joint press conference with Putin. "The conditions are right."

Putin also said that his country intended to continue its nuclear cooperation with Iran, but emphasized Russia did not want to see the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Iran, and Israeli officials have expressed concern to Putin that Tehran would use the technology to further its nuclear weapons program. Putin said the nuclear components did not threaten Israel's security.

"We intend to continue in all our programs with Iran because we believe such programs have peaceful ends," he said.

Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to a cease-fire in February, calling a halt to more than four years of violence between the two sides. Violence has largely subsided in the wake of the agreement, but in recent weeks militants in Gaza have resumed firing mortar shells and homemade rockets at Gaza settlements.

The attacks come barely three months before Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza, and appear to be part of an effort by militants to make it look as if they drove Israel out of the coastal area.

Until now, Abbas has preferred to try to co-opt the militants — many of whom are viewed as resistance heroes by Palestinians — rather than crack down on them. He has also been working to absorb more than 500 armed men wanted by Israel into the Palestinian security services.

But Israeli officials have objected to the plan and said they won't hand over the West Bank town of Qalqiliya to Palestinian control until fugitives have been disarmed and signed pledges not to engage in terror or violence, Israel's Haaretz daily reported Friday. Israeli security officials confirmed the report.

As part of a package of gestures agreed to in connection with the Feb. 8 cease-fire, Israel said it would hand over five West Bank towns to Palestinian control. Israel has already turned over Jericho and Tulkarem, but stopped there, saying that Abbas has not taken away the fugitives' weapons in those towns. Instead, he has absorbed them into the police, they said.

Qalqiliya was expected to be the next town handed over.

Haaretz also reported that Israel has rejected a U.S. request to give weapons to Palestinian police to help them in performing their duties.

Israeli officials could not immediately be reached for comment. U.S. officials declined to discuss the report.