|
Israel prepares for pullout from West Bank cities
Israel has agreed to a military withdrawal from two cities in the West Bank as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presses his ministers to release detainees from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israeli officials said the cities would be designated this week in meetings with the Palestinian Authority. They said the withdrawal would be accompanied by the release of up to 600 Palestinian prisoners and removal of military checkpoints in the Ramallah area. Sharon has also been lobbying his ministers for a decision to release at least 100 Hamas and Jihad prisoners at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday. Officials said Sharon has been under U.S. pressure to release Islamic insurgents before his meeting with President George Bush in Washington on Tuesday. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-07-28 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=16989 |