JERUSALEM Ñ Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered a series
of measures meant to ease pressure on the Palestinian Authority.
Aides said Sharon has ordered the gradual lifting of the siege imposed
on PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Arafat has been confined to the West Bank city
of Ramallah for three months.
The aides said the prime minister intends to allow Arafat to travel
freely as soon as Palestinian suicide-bombings subside. They said the first
step would allow Arafat to leave Ramallah for other PA areas. Arafat
would be allowed to leave for the Arab League summit in Beirut on March 27.
Sharon has also shelved his demand for a Palestinian ceasefire in
advance of a resumption of U.S.-sponsored negotiations on the future of the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. Aides said Sharon had responded to a U.S. request
on the eve of the Middle East tour by Vice President Richard Cheney.
"I had thought otherwise," Sharon told the Cabinet on Sunday. "I changed
my mind. This is a decision of leadership."
U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni is expected to arrive in the Middle East on
Thursday accompanied by up to 15 CIA agents who will serve as peackeeping
monitors. Sharon's concession regarding a Palestinian ceasefire prompted a
decision by one of his right-wing coalition partners, the National Union, to
leave the government.
At the same time, Israel and the PA continued to trade blows. Israeli
troops, backed by 50 tanks and several helicopters, entered the West Bank
city of Kalkilya on Monday. Israeli forces also entered the Dehaishe refugee
camp outside Bethlehem in a search-and-destroy operation against Palestinian
insurgents.
Palestinian gunners fired Kassam-2 short-range rockets toward the
Israeli city of Ashkelon. In the coastal Israeli city of Ashdod, a
Palestinian insurgent burst into a catering hall with a U.S.-made M-16 and
began to riddle those attending a bar mitzvah with semi-automatic fire. The
assault rifle jammed and the insurgent was captured. A 13-year-old Israeli
was seriously injured.
Military sources said the Israeli military has been restrained and has
been limited to tactical rather than strategic targets. The sources said the
Israeli attacks have not led to any change in Arafat's policy to end suicide
bombings against civilians in the Jewish state.
On Sunday, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz said 200 Palestinians
were killed in fighting with Israeli troops over the last week. Mofaz
dismissed calls for the destruction of the PA, saying this would require the
occupation of three million Palestinians.
