US urges Palestinians, Israelis to live up to Roadmap and Sharm el-Sheikh Accords

Asked "Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Interior has announced today that it will not allow any groups to be armed after Gaza disengagement and it called all the groups to be part of the Palestinian National Army.Ê How do you assess this position?" US Department of State spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday:

"I haven't seen that particular statement, but what we have said repeatedly is that all the parties have obligations under the Roadmap and the Sharm el-Sheikh Accords. Part of the Palestinian Authority's responsibility is to prevent terrorist attacks and dismantle terror networks. We have also talked about the fact that and the importance of in any democratic society or emerging democracy or any area that aspires to be a democracy, you have to have one authority, one gun, one rule, and that's something that President Abbas has talked about. And as for, you know, terrorist organizations like Hamas, we have made it very clear what our views are. And in terms of how the Palestinians define their way forward in their political environment, that's going to be for them to say."