Israel to remove West Bank roadblocks
Israel has agreed to remove major roadblocks as part of its withdrawal from five West Bank towns in coming weeks – the most tangible improvement in the lives of ordinary Palestinians as a result of a fledgling truce.
“The Israelis will withdraw from the cities and the adjacent areas and they will leave checkpoints, and Palestinian security forces will replace them at these checkpoints,” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas today.
A second summit between Ariel Sharon and Abbas could take place within a week at the Israeli prime minister’s ranch, a senior Israeli official said today.
Raanan Gissin said there will be a series of meetings between officials in the next few days to finalise the details. The meeting, he said could take place as early as “in the coming days or a week”.
Sharon invited Abbas to meet him at his Sycamore Ranch in southern Israel during the summit at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik yesterday where both men agreed to a ceasefire.
A senior Israeli military official confirmed today that several roadblocks would be removed as part of the handover of security to the Palestinians.
Israeli army checkpoints ring all West Bank towns, with soldiers checking documents of all those entering and leaving, whether in cars or on foot. Long queues often form at these checkpoints, severely disrupting the lives of Palestinians. During more than four years of fighting, troops often sealed off towns entirely.
In the coming three weeks, Israel is to hand over security control in the towns of Jericho, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Ramallah. The timetable was agreed at Abbas’ meeting on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Returning to his West Bank office today, Abbas said: ”The Israelis will withdraw from the cities and the adjacent areas and they will leave checkpoints, and Palestinian security forces will replace them at these checkpoints.”
Ariel Sharon has invited Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to meet him in Jerusalem.
He made the invitation at yesterday’s summit, said Raanan Gissin.
Mubarak did not immediately answer, but the sides will discuss the possibility of a summit in Jerusalem in the coming weeks, he added.
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