Israelis Agree to Pull Out of Selected Palestinian Areas
Israeli and Palestinian security officials reached agreement Sunday on a plan for Israeli troops to withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip and from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
The agreement was reached Sunday evening between Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Israeli forces will withdraw on the condition that “the Palestinian side takes responsibility to calm the security situation and reduce violence,” the statement said.
The pullout was to begin today. Nabil abu Rudaineh, an aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, said the withdrawal would “prepare the atmosphere” for troop pullbacks elsewhere. Both sides had agreed that the withdrawal would be completed within 48 hours, he said.
If Palestinian attacks stop after the troops leave, the army will gradually pull out of other areas supposed to be under Palestinian Authority control.
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