Egypt has sent a large quantity of arms to the forces of of moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party with the help of Israel, an Israeli official said.
"In coordination with Israel, Egypt delivered a large quantity of guns and munitions to the Abbas forces," the official told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
The Haaretz daily meanwhile reported that "a load of 2,000 Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles as well as 20,000 cartridge clips and two million bullets were transferred to Fatah's armed groups in the Gaza Strip, in coordination with the Israeli army."
The paper said the arms had been transported by a convoy of four trucks from Egypt into Israel vie the Kerem Shalom crossing point to the south of the Gaza Strip, and had then been taken to the Karni crossing further north where they were received by Palestinian Authority security services loyal to Abbas.
The arms transfer followed official discussions among Israel, Egypt and the United States and was decided upon at a summit Saturday in Jerusalem between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas, Haaretz said.
Israeli public radio reported that there would shortly be another delivery of weaponry to Abbas's forces in the West Bank, this time from Jordan.
Agencies
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