Dahlan, Mofaz To Meet On New Pullouts

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.