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Israel prepares to withdraw as fighting continues

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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