RAMALLAH, West Bank: Israel is to reduce its military presence in the West Bank cities of Qalqilya, Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem as part of an effort to bolster the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli defense officials said yesterday. Israeli media said the decision was announced at a Wednesday meeting between Israeli officers and their Palestinian counterparts in Bethlehem.
Palestinian leaders have long demanded that Israel pull its forces back from West Bank cities to positions they held before the second intifada (uprising) erupted in 2000.
The Israeli defense officials said that the move was aimed at giving the Palestinians the ability to enforce law and order and crack down on Hamas and other armed groups independently without Israeli intervention. Nevertheless, the officials said that if there was intelligence regarding planned military attacks against Israel, the Israeli forces would not hesitate to operate within the cities to thwart those attacks.
Currently Israeli troops mainly operate at night, while Palestinian security forces police during the day. Following Wednesday’s decision, Palestinian troops will operate during both night and day.
The announcement coincided with efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease tensions with US President Barack Obama over stalled peacemaking with the Palestinians.
A senior Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the move as a public relations “sham.” He said Israel should halt incursions without exception. Israel has rebuffed US calls for a halt to Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank. On Monday Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will meet Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in Washington.
— With input from agencies
