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Israel suspends towns' transfer to Palestinian control
Israel's Defence Minister has frozen the handover of West Bank towns to Palestinian security forces, saying the Palestinians have failed to honour their commitment to disarm militants.The Palestinian security chief has acknowledged he has no intention of stripping the militant groups of their weapons. Since an informal cease-fire came into place several months ago, Israel has transferred control of two West Bank cities - Jericho and Tulkarem - to the Palestinians. But speaking at a meeting of Israel's security cabinet, Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said he was freezing the handover of other West Bank towns because the Palestinian security forces had failed to disarm militant groups. At a news conference in Gaza, Palestinian security chief Rashid Abu Shbak said he had no intention of disarming the militants. Instead, he is calling on them to honour their cease-fire commitment. Posted by: God Save The World 2005-05-04 |
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