Israel approved the delivery of armored vehicles to the Palestinian Authority.
The permission for delivery of the 25 Russian-made vehicles came during last week’s visit to Israel by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the French press agency reported.
Israel has been reluctant to allow P.A. troops to be armed until it receives assurances that the nascent force, loyal to P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, is resilient enough not to allow weapons to reach terrorists.
However, Israel has come under pressure in recent months, particularly from the Bush administration, to allow equipment to reach P.A. security forces.
