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Mutinous
soldiers defuse explosives as they agree to drive back to barracks
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Additional
reporting by Mostafa al-Sawaf, IOL Correspondent
GAZA
CITY, July 30 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Palestinian
Minister of State for Security Affairs Mohammed Dahlan and Israeli
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz are expected to meet Wednesday, July 30, on
transferring security control in two West Bank cities - possibly Ariha
(Jericho) and Qalqilya - to the Palestinian Authority, Israeli sources
said.
Quoting
Mofaz, the Israeli public radio had said the meeting would focus on
transferring security responsibilities in two Palestinian cities to the
PA, however, Mofaz did not specify when or where the meeting would take
place.
Sources
with the Israeli army's central command said it would be easier for the
army and security services to transfer the security responsibilities in
Ariha and Qalqilya to the PA, given the lull that prevailed in the two
cities.
Ariha
is, in effect, under the PA control and the transfer of security control
would be seen as a symbolic move by clearing one or two roadblocks at
the city's entrances.
The
Israeli Yediot Ahrnouth newspaper said senior Israeli army
officers went also for transferring the security responsibilities in
other cities, such as Jenin, to the PA.
But
Palestinian sources close to Dahlan said he would urge Israel to pull
its troops out of the West Bank city of Ramallah and either Qalqilya or
Nablus.
"Ramallah
first and then Qalqilya or Nablus," the source told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
Israeli troops withdrew
June 29 from the northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Hanun.
The
withdrawal came after the Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and
Islamic Jihad issued a joint statement
declaring a three-month freeze on anti-Israeli attacks.
Dahlan
earlier told AFP that "this withdrawal must be real, not like what
happened in Bethlehem where the army withdrew but then surrounded the
city. There is no meaning in this type of withdrawal."
The
Israeli army claimed on July 2 that it had completed
the transfer of security control in the West Bank city of Bethlehem to
Palestinian authorities, a move seen by most of the Palestinians as a "trick."
Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said Friday that Israel would
transfer security responsibility for two cities, but added "the
decision as to which cities ... and the transfer timing" would be
made at the Mofaz-Dahlan talks.
Detention
In
another development, the Israeli army detained three Hamas and Islamic
Jihad activists in the West Bank, AFP quoted Israeli military sources as
saying Wednesday.
Two
Hamas members were captured overnight around the West Bank town of
Nablus and the nearby village of Al Msakan Ash Sha’abiya, while the
Jihad leader was abducted in the Ramallah sector, the sources said.
The
Israeli Haaretz newspaper identified the Islamic Jihad
leader as Khatem Sueti, adding that he was detained during an operation
carried out by the so-called Duvdevan commando unit.
The
Israeli daily further said that the Israeli security service Shin Bet
recently abducted three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP) in the West Bank, on suspicion of planning to kidnap
and murder a member of the Israeli security forces in the northern West
Bank.
'Relocating
Palestinians'
Israeli
security sources also confirmed Tuesday, July 29, that Israel and the PA
were discussing relocating Palestinians to Ariha in exchange for an
Israeli pledge not to arrest them but have not yet reached an official
agreement, Haaretz said.
The
daily said that dozens of Palestinian fighters wanted by Israel have
moved to Ariha over the last few weeks as the PA promised not to arrest
them as long as they remain committed to the cease-fire.
The
Palestinians who have moved to Ariha include Islamic Jihad activist
Mahmoud Kamil and Fatah activist Hatam Abu Halima, it said.
Israel
is willing to relocate the "Palestinian suspects" to Ariha in
the hopes that this will help generate quiet in the West Bank, according
to Haaretz.
