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Israel suspends plan to pull out of towns©Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times, BETHLEHEM, West Bank -- Israel suspended a planned withdrawal from two West Bank towns Saturday after it said Palestinian gunmen fired on its soldiers. Palestinians said that the pullout was supposed to have been unconditional and that the delay shows Israel isn't serious about peace. Israel had been scheduled to withdraw from Bethlehem and Beit Jala late Saturday. The pullout was to be a test case for withdrawals from four other West Bank towns Israel occupied starting Oct. 18 in search of the Palestinians who killed Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. It wasn't clear how long the suspension would last, but Israeli officials said the pullout wouldn't occur before today or while they were under fire. "The pullback from Bethlehem and Beit Jala by (Israeli defense) forces is suspended for the time being because of noncompliance (with) the agreements reached by the Palestinian police forces, and the continuation of the firing from these areas," said Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Gissin said the pullout would occur when the Palestinian Authority implements a cease-fire he said it agreed to Friday in a three-way meeting with U.S. officials. A Foreign Ministry official, Gideon Meir, said Israel would pull out today "if there will be a stop of shooting and the Palestinians will stand up to their commitments." Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said the withdrawal was supposed to have been unconditional. "I think it's a political decision not to pull out," he said. Clashes occurred Saturday at an intersection between Bethlehem and Beit Jala, as well as near the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Four Israelis were slightly injured when their car was fired on near Hebron, an army spokesman said. The army also reported gunfire from Palestinian areas into Gilo, a Jewish neighborhood built on disputed land on Jerusalem's outskirts, that injured one person. In Tulkarem, another West Bank town Israel occupied last week, a member of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement was shot and killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli tanks, Palestinian doctors and officials said. Palestinian gunmen had fired after the tanks moved deeper into the town's center, they said. The army said its tanks fired after being fired on. Israeli officials stressed that Palestinians must enforce a truce declared on Sept. 26, ensure security for the pullout to be completed. Along with Bethlehem and Beit Jala, Israel has occupied Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarem. Arafat said Saturday the suspension showed Israel wasn't serious about making peace with the Palestinians. "It was supposed to take place tonight, but as you see it has not been implemented," Arafat said after meeting in Gaza with European parliamentarians. "It's a part of their policy not to achieve real peace." Government spokesman Avi Pazner said Saturday that Israel would have to reconsider deployments in other West Bank cities if the Palestinians failed to keep the peace in Bethlehem and Beit Jala. "But let me say that we hope that they will succeed, because Israel has no interest in staying in those cities," he said. Hours before the withdrawal was to begin, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire near an intersection between Bethlehem and Beit Jala after Israeli snipers took over an office building occupied by Palestinians workers, both sides said. The Israeli incursions represented the most extensive Israeli military action in 13 months of fighting. They left 38 Palestinians dead, failed to net all of Zeevi's killers and angered the Bush administration, which worried that further unrest would undermine support among Arab nations for its anti-terrorism campaign. "We regret what's happening and we think both sides should try harder to get their act together," said Paul Patin, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
