NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said the Western defense alliance was prepared to provide peacekeeping services to Israelis and Palestinians. Rasmussen told the Herzliya security conference in Israel that these troops could intervene if a future peace treaty was broken, or if the two sides needed assistance. However, NATO would get involved in the peace process only if a concrete agreement was on the table and the two sides were to request its intervention.
Rasmussen urged Israelis and Palestinians to move quickly: "We do not have all the time in the world. There is a new dynamic in the region. We must seize the opportunity to build on it." Stability and prosperity for the Middle East could only come from within region, if the countries chose that path. NATO, the former Danish prime minister added, could serve as a mediator in this respect.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and Rasmussen had discussed expanding the cooperation between Israel and NATO. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he would agree to have international peacekeepers deployed in a future Palestinian state for a limited time.
