Israel Cedes 7% of W. Bank to Palestinians

Fulfilling a commitment under a new interim peace accord, Israel transferred 7% of the West Bank to Palestinian civil control Friday, three days ahead of schedule.

The hand-over of more than a dozen slivers of land dotting the ear-shaped territory marked the first transfer of territory to the Palestinians by the new government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the first change in the status of any West Bank parcels in 10 months.

But it was remarkably low-key, partly because Israel retains security control over the land, at least for now. In addition, officials said, the administrative meetings that will make the transfer of civil powers official will not take place until Monday, the first working day after the Jewish new year.

Friday’s transfer did not include an Israeli troop pullback, and it was hard to detect any immediate changes on the ground.

“We’ll start the transfer of the information and documents we have concerning this 7% on Monday,” said army Lt. Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel’s civil administration in the West Bank. He said the Palestinians will gain responsibility over such matters as land registration, archeological sites, and planning and building within the new pockets of land.

In a separate ceremony Monday at the border between Israel and Palestinian-ruled areas of the Gaza Strip, the two sides will reopen talks aimed at producing a permanent peace accord within a year. U.S. envoy Dennis B. Ross and other dignitaries are expected to attend.

Before Friday’s land transfer, the Palestinians had full or partial control of 29% of the West Bank. When the Israelis complete a three-stage hand-over outlined in the new agreement, the Palestinians will control about 40% of the territory.

The areas transferred Friday consist mostly of sparsely populated rural land, from near Janin in the northern West Bank to near Hebron in the south. They make up about 160 square miles of land and will help link chunks of territory already under partial or full Palestinian control.

The hand-over was the second step in Barak’s rapid implementation of the interim peace deal he signed Sunday with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. On Thursday, 199 Palestinian prisoners were released under terms of the agreement, which is designed to resurrect last October’s Wye Plantation accord. An additional 150 prisoners are to be freed next month.

“The Israelis offered their maps this morning, and President Arafat approved them,” said Nabil abu Rudaineh, the Palestinian leader’s spokesman.

After months of delays and weeks of tortuous negotiations to reach the new agreement, it was clear that the formal transfer and the prisoner release already had boosted Palestinian confidence in the new Israeli administration.

“At least this government signs agreements and implements them,” Ziad abu Ziad, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, said Friday. “This is a very positive sign.”

In a statement Friday, Israel’s opposition Likud Party accused Barak of “handing Arafat territory without the Palestinians having fulfilled even one of their commitments in the Wye agreement.” The party said the Palestinians have yet to collect illegal weapons or reduce the size of their police force, as required under terms of the original Wye accord.