Israel to withdraw from 4 towns

A Palestinian man throws back a can of tear gas toward an Israeli army vehicle as others run away at the entrance of the Balata refugee camp in the outskirts of the West Bank town of Nablus Thursday. PHOTO: AP

The troubled US-backed Middle East peace plan received a significant boost from Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, as Israel agreed to withdraw from four more West Bank towns, despite an upsurge in violence that brought a fragile cease-fire between the sides close to the breaking point.

The withdrawal agreement, reached Friday between Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, came three days after a pair of Palestinian suicide bombings killed two Israelis, and 36 hours after Israeli forces killed a senior Palestinian militant during an arrest operation in the West Bank city of Hebron .

US pressure

It was not clear how much US pressure was involved in ending the dispute over who should move first -- Israel in pulling back from more areas of the West Bank, or the Palestinians in starting to dismantle militant groups. Both are required by the "road map" peace plan, officially launched by US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on June 4.

Under plan negotiated between Mofaz and Dahlan, Israel would withdraw from the West Bank towns of Jericho and Qalqiliya next week and remove some military roadblocks.

Travel bans

The easing of travel bans is seen as a major confidence booster. Israeli checkpoints, set up at the start of fighting nearly there years ago to keep out militants, have virtually paralyzed life in the West Bank.

The withdrawal from the towns of Ramallah and Tulkarem would begin in the last week of August, provided there are no shooting and bombing attacks and the Palestinian security forces begin dismantling militant groups, said Shirli Eden, an Israeli Defense Ministry spokeswoman.

Despite the withdrawal agreement, the situation remains tense.

Islamic Jihad

The militant Islamic Jihad group has threatened to take revenge for an Israeli raid on Thursday, in which the group's leader in the West Bank city of Hebron, Mohammed Sidr, was killed.

A similar raid earlier this month in the West Bank city of Nablus prompted two suicide attacks this week, one by Hamas and the second by Iranian-backed renegades from Arafat Fatah movement.

The Palestinian groups declared a unilateral cease-fire June 29, but the Islamic militants have said that while sticking to the truce in principle, they reserve the right to respond to Israeli arrest raids.

The agreement was negotiated in back-to-back meetings between Dahlan and Mofaz late Thursday and on Friday. "We have agreed on Israeli withdrawal from four Palestinian cities in the West Bank in the coming two weeks," Dahlan said. "The meeting was very constructive."

He said Israeli checkpoints on the outskirts of the four towns would be removed.

Israeli pullback

An Israeli pullback to positions held before the outbreak of fighting in September 2000 is required by the road map.

In a first phase, Israel withdrew from parts of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Bethlehem in July.

However, Israel had said it would not withdraw from additional towns until the Palestinians begin dismantling militant groups, as required by the peace plan.

Dahlan Friday that he would not use force against Hamas, Islamic Jihad and renegades from his own Fatah movement. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has said he does not want to set off a civil war, and will continue to try to persuade the militants to stop attacks.

The dispute apparently was resolved because both sides feared they might be blamed for a breakdown of the truce -- and therefore the road map -- if they did not relent.

But some analysts cautioned that the new agreement might be difficult to implement.

"What's behind the agreement is the desire of all three parties -- including the US -- to keep road map alive after the events of this week," said Joseph Alper, a former official in the Israeli Defense Ministry.

"But agreements are one thing and implementation is another. It's not a foregone conclusion that they will carry this one out."