Israel to begin second West Bank transfer on Monday
Israel said it would begin to hand over security control to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday, less than a week after beginning a similar transfer in Jericho.
The announcement came as the Jewish state looked to Arab leaders to ease the way to normalising full diplomatic ties with Israel ahead of any final Palestinian accord by endorsing a revamped peace initiative this week.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the Tulkarem transfer -- the second such process of ceding security control in the West Bank -- would begin "tomorrow".
"It is very important for us to see how the Palestinians fulfill their commitments on everything in taking responsibility in West Bank towns," he said, without specifying how long the transfer would take.
"In the first instance that means dealing with the wanted Palestinians, their ability to keep order, dismantle terrorist infrastructure and prevent attacks in the sectors where they have taken responsibility."
Last Wednesday, Israel handed over limited security control to the PA in Jericho in a full handover that is to take four weeks to complete.
But Palestinian security sources have already accused Israel of reneging on the agreement by checking vehicles coming into Jericho from the south, rather than just outgoing traffic, which was prescribed under the deal.
Israeli jeeps are also parked on the road north to Al-Auja village, where soldiers had not previously set up post. A Palestinian security source said there had been no contact between the two sides for three days.
"We talked to the Israelis about this violation and told them that they had gone against the agreement. We still didn't get an answer," the source said.
Ceding security in Tulkarem and Jericho, as well as Ramallah, Bethlehem and Qalqilya, was a key issue agreed at a landmark Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Egypt early last month.
The process was deadlocked for weeks following a February suicide bombing in Tel Aviv -- carried out by an Islamic Jihad militant from Tulkarem.
Israel meanwhile said it hoped the Arab League would endorse an initiative under which Arab countries would first normalise relations with Israel, which would only subsequently withdraw from Arab land occupied since 1967.
"The simple fact that Jordan has suggested this kind of proposal marks the beginning of change in the Arab world," a senior official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.
Heads of state are due to discuss the Jordanian proposal at this year's annual Arab League summit in Algiers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The meeting comes as Amman and Cairo normalise their own ties with Israel, four years after top-level relations were broken off to protest against Israel's response to the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.
"Opting for peace would be the best help the League can give towards creating a Palestinian state," said Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
But the ruling Palestinian party Fatah issued a statement urging the League not to adopt any resolution paving the way to normalise ties with Israel without a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Algiers summit is the first major Arab gathering since last month's peace summit and the moderate Mahmud Abbas was elected Palestinian leader following the death of Yasser Arafat.
Jordan's King Abdullah II has said the original Saudi plan was altered to ensure it was better received by Israelis, who rejected it in 2002.
On the ground, three Israeli soldiers and a policeman were wounded in a Palestinian ambush in a refugee camp in Ramallah, the army said.
The incident came three days after the 13 main Palestinian factions said they would extend an informal truce agreement until the end of the year.
- AFP
Israel said it would begin to hand over security control to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday, less than a week after beginning a similar transfer in Jericho.
The announcement came as the Jewish state looked to Arab leaders to ease the way to normalising full diplomatic ties with Israel ahead of any final Palestinian accord by endorsing a revamped peace initiative this week.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the Tulkarem transfer -- the second such process of ceding security control in the West Bank -- would begin "tomorrow".
"It is very important for us to see how the Palestinians fulfill their commitments on everything in taking responsibility in West Bank towns," he said, without specifying how long the transfer would take.
"In the first instance that means dealing with the wanted Palestinians, their ability to keep order, dismantle terrorist infrastructure and prevent attacks in the sectors where they have taken responsibility."
Last Wednesday, Israel handed over limited security control to the PA in Jericho in a full handover that is to take four weeks to complete.
But Palestinian security sources have already accused Israel of reneging on the agreement by checking vehicles coming into Jericho from the south, rather than just outgoing traffic, which was prescribed under the deal.
Israeli jeeps are also parked on the road north to Al-Auja village, where soldiers had not previously set up post. A Palestinian security source said there had been no contact between the two sides for three days.
"We talked to the Israelis about this violation and told them that they had gone against the agreement. We still didn't get an answer," the source said.
Ceding security in Tulkarem and Jericho, as well as Ramallah, Bethlehem and Qalqilya, was a key issue agreed at a landmark Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Egypt early last month.
The process was deadlocked for weeks following a February suicide bombing in Tel Aviv -- carried out by an Islamic Jihad militant from Tulkarem.
Israel meanwhile said it hoped the Arab League would endorse an initiative under which Arab countries would first normalise relations with Israel, which would only subsequently withdraw from Arab land occupied since 1967.
"The simple fact that Jordan has suggested this kind of proposal marks the beginning of change in the Arab world," a senior official in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.
Heads of state are due to discuss the Jordanian proposal at this year's annual Arab League summit in Algiers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The meeting comes as Amman and Cairo normalise their own ties with Israel, four years after top-level relations were broken off to protest against Israel's response to the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in 2000.
"Opting for peace would be the best help the League can give towards creating a Palestinian state," said Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
But the ruling Palestinian party Fatah issued a statement urging the League not to adopt any resolution paving the way to normalise ties with Israel without a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Algiers summit is the first major Arab gathering since last month's peace summit and the moderate Mahmud Abbas was elected Palestinian leader following the death of Yasser Arafat.
Jordan's King Abdullah II has said the original Saudi plan was altered to ensure it was better received by Israelis, who rejected it in 2002.
On the ground, three Israeli soldiers and a policeman were wounded in a Palestinian ambush in a refugee camp in Ramallah, the army said.
The incident came three days after the 13 main Palestinian factions said they would extend an informal truce agreement until the end of the year.
- AFP
