Israeli Withdrawal Decision Delayed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet put off a decision on the extent of land Israel wants to retain in the West Bank, while a military-prepared proposal claimed about half the territory for security reasons. With Israel insisting on time to work out its ultimate demands in a deal with the Palestinians, it seemed unlikely Netanyahu would be able to present U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright with a detailed proposal for an interim troop pullback this week. In recent weeks, the U.S. has said it wants to see a proposal for the pullback when Netanyahu meets Albright in Paris on Thursday. But Israel Radio on Sunday quoted U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk as telling Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy that the United States now understood Israel would need time to formulate its position. The Cabinet ministers were expected to reconvene today or Tuesday.