Israel prepares to withdraw as fighting continues
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
TEL AVIV Ñ Amid heavy U.S. pressure, Israel's military is preparing
to withdraw from six
Palestinian-controlled cities in the West Bank.
Israeli military sources said troops are expected to begin the
withdrawal from two West Bank cities over the next 48 hours. They are
believed to be the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus.
This will be followed by Israeli withdrawal from Ramallah. Kalkilya and
Tulkarm are expected to be last on the list. A government decision on
withdrawal is expected when Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres returns
from Washington on Thursday.
Peres met President George Bush for 30 minutes on Tuesday in the White
House. Later, Peres said Bush wants Israel to withdraw from PA areas "as
soon as possible."
The military sources said an Israeli withdrawal from Bethlehem will be
the most difficult part of the operation. They point to continued fighting
in the city and Palestinian attacks on neighboring Jerusalem.
Overnight Wednesday, Palestinian gunners struck homes and cars in the
southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. Israeli troops responded and
military sources said three Palestinians were killed in the fighting.
In Tulkarm, three Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli
troops. Israeli tanks also entered the Ramallah area and two Palestinians
were killed.
The sources said the military will attempt to carry out a staged
withdrawal that will last for several weeks. But they don't rule out the
prospect that U.S. pressure will lead to an immediate withdrawal from all
Palestinian Authority areas in the West Bank. The Israeli operation was
launched after the Palestinian assassination of an Israeli minister, which
Washington has refused to view as a strategic attack.
On Tuesday, President George Bush urged Israel to withdraw immediately
from the six PA cities it entered over the last week. Bush and his aides
rejected Israel's efforts to wage a war on terrorism as the United States is
doing in Afghanistan. The aides said Israel has pledged to a peace process
with the Palestinians.
"In the case of what's happening between the Palestinian Authority and
Israel, both parties have committed to a peace process," White House
spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "So the president believes what's important is
to hold both parties accountable for the promises they made to follow a
political process toward peace. That is not at all the case in what's
happened in Afghanistan."
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was more explicit after
Secretary of State Colin Powell met Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on
Tuesday. We think the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] should be withdrawn
immediately," Boucher said.
Israeli diplomatic sources said Bush's call for an Israeli withdrawal is
supported by both houses of Congress. They said Bush is furious at Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and twice told private gatherings that Sharon should
"go to hell" for continuing Israeli attacks on the PA.
The sources said Bush has been inundated with reports that Israel is
planning to destroy the PA. On late Tuesday, the Doha-based A-Jazeera
satellite channel reported that Israel is deploying surface-to-surface
missiles in the northern and southern Gaza Strip.
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