Sharon Orders Israeli Army to Withdraw From Ramallah

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, March 15, 2002

Sharon Orders Israeli Army to Withdraw From Ramallah

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has asked Thursday afternoon Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer to withdraw the Israeli army from the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israel Radio reported.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has asked Thursday afternoon Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer to withdraw the Israeli army from the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israel Radio reported.

In an official statement, the prime minister expressed his satisfaction over the results of the military operations, adding that he hoped the good results would help the diplomatic effort to secure a complete ceasefire with the Palestinians.

Sharon, however, stressed that the siege around the Palestinian city will continue.

The decision, few hours ahead of the arrival of U.S. Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni in the afternoon, was apparently made under the huge pressure from the United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that Israel's recent military actions were "not helpful" to U.S. efforts to reach a ceasefire.

"Frankly, it's not helpful what the Israelis have recently done, in order to create conditions for peace," Bush told a White House news conference. "I understand someone trying to defend themselves and to fight terror but the recent actions aren't helpful," he added.

The Bush administration demanded that Sharon cease "offensive actions" by the Israel Defense Forces in the territories before the arrival of Zinni, whose mission is to push Israel and the Palestinians to immediately implement the Tenet plan and the Mitchell recommendations, which called for the Palestinians and Israel to end violence, take confidence measures after a cooling- off period, and resume peace negotiations.

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