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Palestinian Welcomes Israeli Parliament's Approval of Land Transfer
Palestinian chief negotiator in the interim talks Saeb Erekat Monday evening welcomed the approval by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) to hand over three Arab towns close to Jerusalem to the Palestinian National Authority.
In an interview with Radio Israel, Erekat said Israel should also carry out the third redeployment from the West Bank by June according to the previously-set plan.
Meanwhile, he urged Israel to release another group of the Palestinian detainees and implement other obligations of the interim phases under the Sharm el Sheikh memorandum signed last September.
The Israeli Knesset (parliament) Monday afternoon approved the government proposal to transfer Abu Dis, Azariya and Suwahara, now under Israeli security and Palestinian civilian control (Area B), to full Palestinian control (Area A).
But Prime Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset before the voting that the execution of the transfer will be delayed due to the latest violent clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian and Israeli security forces exchanged fires Monday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leaving two Palestinian policemen and two Palestinian demonstrators dead and over 300 demonstrators injured so far.
Urging the Knesset to approve the handover, Barak said the move was essential to push forward the peace process and would not affect the status of Jerusalem, which Israel insists as its eternal and indivisible capital.
"The area of the three towns that are currently under Palestinian civil administration does not exceed 0.25 percent of the West Bank," he added.
The handover was approved by 56 parliamentarians and opposed by 48 others, with one abstention. A total of 15 Knesset members including several ministers from coalition partners Shas and the Israel B'Aliya parties were absent from the session.
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