Ramon: NATO-like force to protect Israel after withdrawal from West Bank
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA 27 July 2007

Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon suggested in a live interview broadcast
this morning on Israel Radio that Israel rely on an international
"NATO-like" force deployed in the West Bank for security after withdrawing.

It is important to note that while Ramon asserted that Israel today had a
Palestinian "partner" that he apparently does not even attempt to claim that
this is a "partner" who can be relied upon - hence the idea that a third
party would fill in the huge gap that a withdrawal - even one within the
framework of a photo-op signing ceremony - would create.

Following the tradition of Shimon Peres and others, Ramon took the position
that the land he suggest Israel abandons has absolutely no value as a
bargaining chip since it is in Israel's interest to relinquish it.