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Israel reduces control of 4 West Bank towns
JERUSALEM Bowing to pressure from Washington, Israel granted U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces greater autonomy in four main West Bank towns, Israeli and Palestinian defense officials said Thursday.The ability of Palestinian security forces to maintain law and order is key to Mideast peacemaking because Israel needs to be convinced that a future Palestinian state wont threaten its security. Israel already has turned over limited security control to Palestinians in three other West Bank towns, but the military said that forces in Qalqiliya, Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah would be the first to operate around the clock without Israeli clearance. In a statement, the Israeli military said Palestinian security forces will be able to extend their hours of operation in the towns but emphasized that Israeli forces would continue to operate in the West Bank in order to thwart terrorist operations. The move stops short of a full withdrawal from these towns. The Israeli military doesnt routinely patrol West Bank towns and cities, but frequently conducts nighttime and occasional daytime arrest raids. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the step does not go far enough. What is required a full cessation of military raids into Palestinian areas, he told reporters in Ramallah. Israel pulled out of major West Bank population centers in the 1990s but re-entered them after the Palestinian uprising against Israel reignited in late 2000. Palestinians have long sought an Israeli pullback from those towns as a reassertion of sovereignty. The U.S. has been training thousands of forces in the West Bank in preparation for future Palestinian statehood. U.S. officials involved in the training have been pressing Israel to allow the Palestinian forces more freedom. The European Union has contributed about $55 million (40 million euros) for equipment and training, said Jose Vericat, an EU official. We are doing our job protecting our people and there is no need for Israeli forces to enter our territories under the pretext of security needs, said Adnan Dmeiri, a spokesman for the Palestinian security forces. Posted by: Steve White 2009-06-26 |
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