A young Palestinian protester flashes the peace sign

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, June 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Israeli army will pull out Monday, June 30, from parts of the Gaza Strip under a deal reached with the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli public and army broadcasts announced Saturday, June 28.

Citing "senior officials," both reports said Israeli occupation forces will also withdraw from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, but did not say when.

The reports said Israeli officers will meet with Palestinian counterparts Sunday, June 29, to discuss the details of the withdrawal from parts of the northern Gaza Strip, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

This is part of a deal reached Friday, June 27, by virtue of which Israel will leave certain Palestinian autonomous areas re-occupied after Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out 33 months ago, with the Palestinian Authority agreeing to assume security responsibility.

The Americans will oversee the application of the agreement, while Israel will allow the free movement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the its occupation army will end its raids against Palestinians.

The Israeli public radio added that "if the Palestinians do not honor their commitments and stop anti-Israeli attacks being organized from the sectors evacuated, the Israeli army will feel free to act against terrorist organizations."

Confirmed

On Friday night, Nabil Abu Rudeina, an advisor to President Yasser Arafat, confirmed that an agreement had been reached on the Israeli military pullback from the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem.

"This agreement is the first step toward a total Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as the application of the roadmap," he told AFP.

That internationally drawn and U.S.-backed peace blueprint calls for the Palestinians to stop attacks on the Israelis and for Israel to improve the Palestinian's living conditions with an eye on creating an independent Palestinian state by 2005.

"President Arafat spoke with Mohammad Dahlan and also called for Israel to implement this agreement as soon as possible," Abu Rudeina said, referring to the Palestinian state minister for security affairs who was the point man in the negotiations.

Welcomed

"We'll just have to watch and see how that unfolds in the days ahead," said Powell

The White House welcomed Friday the agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"The United States applauds the agreement in principle between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to transfer security responsibilities in Gaza," spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement.

"The agreement represents a first significant joint step toward implementation of commitments made by each party at the Aqaba summit" in Jordan, he said.

Commenting on the roadamp, Fleischer said that "while it is important that the parties have reached this agreement, it is now crucial that each side take steps not only to meet their new commitments but also to build on implementation of this agreement to achieve the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security." 

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell added his praise for the agreement, calling it "a very positive development.

"It is an agreement on principle and I would expect that in a couple of days security officials from both sides, commanders from both sides will get down to the details of how it will be accomplished and how it will be monitored over time."

But Powell was cautious, saying the agreement was only "the beginning of a long process that we hope will lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, side by side in peace with Israel.

"We'll just have to watch and see how that unfolds in the days ahead. But this is all, it seems to me, a progress of the type that the president called for."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Israeli withdrawal "would mark a major improvement in the lives of Palestinians who live there, as well as a major assumption of responsibility by the Palestinian Authority.

"We certainly would welcome that as a first step towards the end to violence and terror. It needs to be followed by other steps to dismantle the capabilities. But we certainly believe that that could be a useful step to see in the coming days," he added.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, for his part, welcomed the new agreement thrashed out by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

"He looks forward to continued implementation of the roadmap, leading to a permanent settlement of the conflict based on Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) 338 (1973) and 1397 (2002)," U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said. in a statement.

"The secretary general commends the vital role played by the United States in facilitating this critically important agreement," he added.

Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said Friday "Hamas has studied all the developments and has reached a decision to call a truce, or a suspension of fighting activities."

On Thursday, June 26, Arafat said the Palestinian factions could announce a truce in the "coming few hours."

Meanwhile, U.S. National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice is due in the region Saturday to hold talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials before meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his top ministers on Sunday, the BBC News Online reported.