Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Israel army to curtail operations in four West Bank cities
Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:34am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Adam Entous
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it would curtail its military activities in four West Bank cities to help a U.S.-backed move to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The announcement, that will give Palestinian security forces a free hand to operate in the cities, coincided with efforts by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease tensions with U.S. 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 U.S. 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 to try to narrow differences.
"As of today, Palestinian security forces will be able to operate freely in the cities of Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho," an Israeli military official said.
The official said Israeli troops would still be able to operate within those cities, battlegrounds during a Palestinian uprising that began in 2000, "in cases of urgent security need." Abbas's Western-backed government is based in Ramallah.
More than 1,600 security men loyal to Abbas have undergone U.S.-funded training since January 2008. They are derided as collaborators by Hamas Islamists who seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after routing Abbas's forces there.
Israel has slowly come to back the U.S. training program as a test of Abbas's ability to rein in militants, as demanded in a 2003 peace "road map" for establishing a Palestinian state.
Abbas has ruled out resuming peace talks with Israel until it halts settlement activity, also required under the road map.
SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY
An Israeli security source said the army would "act as little as possible to allow the Palestinians to take more initiative and responsibility over their own security."
Israeli forces would stay out of the four cities except "in circumstances of 'ticking bombs', or a planned attack" against Israelis, the Israeli security source said.
The senior Palestinian security official countered: "If there is to be a change, they (Israeli troops) should stop the incursions, not enter under the pretext of 'ticking bombs'."
The changes set out by Israel fell far short of Palestinian demands it pull its forces back to positions they held before the outbreak of the uprising.
Israel has been reducing its presence in parts of the West Bank, where anti-Israeli violence has declined. But the army still carries out routine patrols and occasional arrest raids. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
UPDATE 1-Citigroup ups Goldman Q2 EPS view, sees large buyback
Iran's presidential election
Aftermath of Iran's election
Up-to-the-minute news, photos and video of the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed election in Iran. Full Coverage
More International News
Iran's Ahmadinejad compares Obama to Bush
| Video
Angry Iraqis demand protection from bombings
| Video
Somali rebels amputate limbs, U.S. sends weapons
Air France says pilot's body identified after crash
U.S. adviser hails Pakistani attack on militants
More International News...
Related News
Turbid Jordan trickles the promised land
10:34am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
California set to issue IOUs as fiscal crisis weighs
Fannie, Freddie asked to relax condo loan rules: report
Live on Television: U.S. politicians confess sins
Studios wary of Oscar's new best-picture rule
Iran's Ahmadinejad compares Obama to Bush | Video
More than "renewable" energy needed: Microsoft
Buffett laments that U.S. economy has "no bounce"
South Carolina Governor Sanford admits extramarital affair | Video
Bernanke, a Machiavellian Schemer?
Police search for naked french fry thief
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Missing SC governor returns
Global drug appetite waning?
Israel radio voices Iran unrest
Star-struck teenager sues
Formula One split averted.
Pop star builds 3 schools for poor
Google briefly blocked in China
N.Korea's anti-U.S. rally
Boy escapes runaway car
Solstice celebrated au naturel
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.