 |
Facing U.S. Pressure, Israel to Start Gradual Withdrawal From West Bank Towns
Facing steady U.S. criticism, Israel announced Friday it would withdraw from several West Bank towns if Palestinians begin adhering to a cease-fire agreement, an aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.
Sharon agreed to the phased withdrawal at a late-night meeting of his top Cabinet ministers. There was no immediate Palestinian response.
Israeli forces began entering six West Bank towns last Thursday, a day after the assassination of its ultranationalist tourism minister by a radical Palestinian group.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops swept through the West Bank village of Beit Rima, sparking a gunbattle that left five Palestinians dead.
Sharon had said Israeli troops would pull back only after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat handed over the minister's killers and arrests militants. But President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Israel this week to pull out. Powell said Israel should leave "immediately" and Bush said "as quickly as possible."
On Thursday, Israel withdrew from Beit Rima, and the announcement that it would begin to leave the six other towns came early Friday.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who returned Thursday from Washington, where he spoke with Bush and Powell, said: "The U.S. feels it has always granted our requests. It expects that we, too, will grant its request."
In Washington, a senior U.S. official welcomed Israel's decision to withdraw. "We encouraged them to withdraw. We hope it's a positive contribution," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. security officials will meet later Friday to negotiate terms for the withdrawal, Sharon's aide said.
On Thursday and before the announcement in Jerusalem, the U.N. Security Council issued an informal statement saying it was "deeply concerned by the escalation in violence" and backed calls for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. The Palestinian representative said the statement did not go far enough.
In This Section
|