PM open to Italian proposal to send international force to Gaza

[oberliner]

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Friday he was ready to discuss Italy's proposal to send international troops to Gaza when he travels to Rome next week for a meeting with the Italian premier.

Italy has floated the idea several times since this summer, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has long called for an international presence in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel, however, has opposed the idea.

Olmert said in an interview ro Italy's RAI Tg1 television news that he is on friendly terms with Premier Romano Prodi and would listen to what he has to say.

"If Italy is prepared that its army will be engaged on a daily basis against terrorist actions of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and the other terrorist organizations operating in Gaza, this is very interesting news. I want to learn it," Olmert said, speaking in English.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798712.html