PNA Demands Israel's Complete Withdrawal From Occupied Areas in West Bank

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, April 22, 2002

PNA Demands Israel's Complete Withdrawal From Occupied Areas in West Bank

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday called upon Israel to withdraw its troops completely from cities, towns, villages and refugee camps that were occupied recently in the West Bank.

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The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday called upon Israel to withdraw its troops completely from cities, towns, villages and refugee camps that were occupied recently in the West Bank.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a top aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, told reporters that "what is needed from Israel is completeand unconditional withdrawal from all the Palestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank."

"What the Israeli army did now is not withdrawal, it is redeployment," Abu Rudeineh said. "This is really to deceive the international public opinion, and an attempt to escape from implementing the Security Council resolutions."

Palestinian security sources and witnesses said that the Israeliarmy had left Ramallah, apart from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound, and pulled out of Nablus, but still kept up a siege on the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem.

"We want a full withdrawal from all the West Bank towns, and from around the office of President Yasser Arafat and implementation of the Security Council resolutions," said Abu Rudeineh.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Israeli announcement of withdrawal from the West Bank "is an entire lie", adding that the announcement "was only used for propaganda purposes."

"They are talking about withdrawal, but how can we call it withdrawal if they just moved their tanks from into the cities and stationed them outside, and kept those cities under tightened siege", said Erekat.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources said that Israeli special troops were involved in a manhunt Sunday morning for wanted Palestinian militants in the Qalandiyah refugee camp, north of Jerusalem.

The sources said that at least 13 armed Palestinians have been arrested, and there have been heavy exchanges of fire, adding that among those arrested is Nasser Abu Hameid, one of the leaders of the Fatah military wing in the West Bank.

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