JERICHO, West Bank, 10 March 2005 — Israeli and Palestinian security commanders failed to reach agreement yesterday on the handover of this West Bank town to Palestinian security control, but decided to meet a second time to try to salvage a deal.
The dispute, which threatens to deal a setback to a Feb. 8 truce agreement, centers on the scope of the Israeli pullback, particularly whether Israel would remove the main army checkpoint at the entrance of the town. With a new envoy heading to the region, an American official raised the possibility of US intervention.
Plans to hand over Jericho and the town of Tulkarm in the coming days were announced Tuesday, after a late-night meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
Security commanders met for just 20 minutes yesterday to discuss the details of the Jericho handover. Ismail Jaber, the Palestinian commander, said disagreements remained, and that negotiations would continue.
Israeli security officials confirmed the talks had failed but said the two sides would hold a second meeting later in the day. The officials declined to say when or where the meeting would take place.
Israeli forces had rarely operated in Jericho and Tulkarm in recent months. The Palestinians want surrounding areas to be included as well, but Israel has balked at removing major army checkpoints on the outskirts of these towns.
“The Israeli side, it appears, has no clear orders (from political leaders) to remove all checkpoints,” Jaber said.
Israel agreed to turn over five Palestinian towns, including Jericho and Tulkarm, to Palestinian control as part of a truce announced at a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The handover has been held up, however, by a Palestinian bombing that killed five Israelis in Tel Aviv on Feb. 25. Tuesday night’s talks between Abbas and Mofaz were the highest-level discussions between the two sides since the bombing.
The deadlock over Jericho left the fate of Tulkarm up in the air and could spell trouble as the Israelis and Palestinians try to move forward to stickier issues. Jericho, a quiet town far from Israeli population centers, has been relatively quiet during the four years of fighting.
The dispute erupted a day before Lt. Gen. William Ward, the US Army general designated to monitor Israel-Palestinian security efforts, is scheduled to begin work.
— With input from agencies
