Israelis pulling out of Ramallah, Nablus

JERUSALEM -- Israel began pulling forces out of the West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah on Saturday night, and officials said they will cooperate with a United Nations probe into the army's devastating attack on the Jenin refugee camp.

The Israeli moves did not include ending the siege of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah. They came as President Bush was meeting at Camp David with his national security team, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, to discuss what peace efforts the United States might make next.

U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns toured the wrecked Jenin camp Saturday as refugees and aid workers continued to search for bodies in the rubble. He declared it the site of "terrible human tragedy."

But Israeli officials said they are confident the United Nations will determine that no massacre of civilians took place during the eight-day offensive, as Palestinians have charged. Hospital officials in Jenin reported Saturday that 42 bodies had been pulled from the remains of homes and other buildings bulldozed during the assault. Twenty-three Israeli soldiers were killed during the fighting.

Rescue efforts continued to be hampered by the presence of explosives left behind during the battle. A Palestinian medic who had volunteered his services suffered severe injuries to a foot Saturday when he stepped on a mine.

Tensions continue to run high in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army reported that a suspected Palestinian suicide bomber exploded at a checkpoint on the western side of the West Bank town of Kalkilya Saturday.

And in Gaza, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire at the Erez checkpoint between Israel and Gaza, killing a border police officer before he was shot dead by an Israeli tank, the army and Palestinian sources reported. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade militia claimed responsibility.

Even as Israeli pullbacks appeared to gain momentum, there was no resolution in sight that would free Arafat from his headquarters, or release about 200 gunmen, civilians and priests holed up in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

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