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Roadblocks stay, say Israeli officials

A Palestinian man looks on as security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas take position in the street during a rally marking the 43rd anniversary of the Fatah movement in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Tuesday. Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group launched a new crackdown on the rival Fatah movement on Tuesday, arresting dozens of activists and barring public gatherings after Fatah anniversary celebrations sparked deadly violence throughout the Gaza Strip. PHOTO: AP

Israel will not remove its West Bank roadblocks, erected to stop attacks by militants, Israel's defense minister said, turning down a key Palestinian demand just days before US President George W. Bush arrives to promote recently restarted peace negotiations.

As part of Bush's visit, he is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday. Olmert's office did not confirm the report.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak's comments on Tuesday soured an already tense atmosphere. Israeli construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and violence between Israelis and Palestinians -- and among Palestinians themselves -- are threatening to overwhelm Bush's efforts.

Olmert told his people through a newspaper interview ahead of the visit that for their own good, they must consider giving up much of the West Bank and part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

Late on Tuesday, Israeli security released a statement saying two gunmen who killed two Israeli hikers in the West Bank on Friday were Fatah activists, a disclosure that could further complicate peace moves. Abbas is the leader of Fatah. The statement said the two turned themselves in to Palestinian police to avoid arrest by Israeli forces.

In response, Olmert convened senior ministers yesterday to discuss the implications of the involvement of Fatah members in the attack, Israel Radio reported.

Olmert spokesman Mark Regev called on Abbas to reform Fatah.

"I think everyone is aware of the very real challenge that faces the Palestinian government in dealing with renegade elements within Fatah," Regev said yesterday. "What is needed there is of course a comprehensive and thorough reform."

In violence yesterday, six Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli operation in the central Gaza Strip, Hamas and Palestinian medical officials said. At least three of those killed were Hamas militants, Hamas said. Five gunmen were wounded, the group said.

The Israeli army confirmed that troops had operated in the area near Gaza City and that they had fired, together with Israeli aircraft, at gunmen who shot anti-tank missiles toward the soldiers.

The toll was the highest in recent days, although militants are frequently killed in such operations against Palestinian groups that fire rockets into southern Israel.

Removing roadblocks is a constant Palestinian demand, and Israel has pledged several times to take down some of the dozens of checkpoints that have choked economic and social life in the West Bank.

Israel erected the roadblocks after the Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000, when attackers infiltrated into Israel.

On Tuesday, however, Barak said the roadblocks have proved an effective obstacle to Palestinian attacks, and except in isolated cases, they would not be dismantled.

"There is no chance of effectively fighting terror without practical daily control in the field, and the roadblocks will stay," Barak said.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Barak's comments were "very unfortunate."

"I don't think we can do anything about the economy or improvement of life or revival of institution-building" as long as the roadblocks remain, Erekat said.

The roadblocks and Israel's plans for construction in areas the claimed by Palestinians are high on the Palestinian agenda for peace talks, which restarted after Bush's Middle East conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November. Bush is likely to hear harsh Palestinian complaints about Israel's policies in those areas when he visits next week.

Ahead of the Bush mission, Olmert called for Israeli concessions.

When speaking of the future, "the world that is friendly to Israel ... speaks of Israel in terms of the 1967 borders. It speaks of the division of Jerusalem," Olmert said in an interview with the English-language Israeli daily the Jeru-salem Post.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians want those territories for an independent state, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

"What will be if we don't want to separate?" Olmert said. "Will we live eternally in a confused reality where 50 percent of the population or more are residents but not equal citizens who have the right to vote like us?"

About 5.4 million Jews live in Israel alongside 1.4 million Israeli Arabs. Another 3.9 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005.
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