AP: Palestinians Restrict Weapons Use
AP
Date: 03-21-05
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer
RAMALLAH, West Bank - The Palestinian Interior Ministry has begun placing restrictions on the use of weapons by militants, security officials said Monday, a step toward fulfilling a long-standing Israeli demand that the armed groups be dismantled.
The order to militants came during a second day of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over a planned transfer of the West Bank town of Tulkarem to Palestinian control. Before an early evening meeting, Israeli officials said an agreement was ready, but senior Palestinian officials said there was still no deal.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials confirmed that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has approved construction of 3,500 housing units in the West Bank's largest settlement, apparently violating the internationally backed "road map" peace plan. Palestinian officials condemned the project, saying it threatens peace prospects.
The plan, which envisions a Palestinian state, requires Israel to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank. It also requires the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups.
Both sides have failed to meet their obligations, although the Palestinian order to militants appeared to be a first step toward disarming gunmen.
Senior Palestinian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press, said the Interior Ministry has distributed a letter outlining weapons restrictions to hundreds of militants in the West Bank.
The restrictions limit militants to a single weapon, and bar them from loading the weapons or carrying them in public, the official said. He said it also requires them to register their weapons with the ministry.
The ministry has asked militants to sign the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.
Israel welcomed the move as a first step.
Leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant faction affiliated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah (news - web sites) faction, said they were considering the offer but would not sign the pledge until Israel completes its planned withdrawal from five West Bank cities.
"Once Israel withdraws, we'll be able to sign it," said Kamel Ghannam, a group leader in Ramallah.
He added, however, that the group remains opposed to giving up its arms altogether.
"We're afraid this is the first step toward disarming us," he said.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and Abbas agreed Feb. 8 that Israel would withdraw from five West Bank towns it entered after the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in September 2000: Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem, Jericho and Bethlehem. But the pullback has been delayed.
Israel has withdrawn from Jericho. Separate talks on Tulkarem ended without agreement on Sunday and Monday due to disagreements over security issues. The dispute focused on control of several roads and villages around Tulkarem, negotiators said.
Israeli military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said only technical details remained and they expected a deal later in the day.
The officials said Israel planned to turn over the city of Tulkarem immediately, while agreeing to resume discussions over the surrounding villages in two weeks. If the areas remain quiet, the villages would be turned over to Palestinian control next month.
But senior Palestinian officials said there was no deal.
Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia angrily accused Israel of "renegotiating issues that are already agreed upon" and called for full withdrawal from the area. He spoke after a Palestinian Cabinet meeting in Gaza.
Similar disputes held up the transfer of the isolated desert oasis of Jericho last week. Tulkarem, located on the Israel-West Bank line, is in a much more sensitive location. The attacker in a Feb. 25 suicide bombing that killed five people in Tel Aviv came from one of the villages.
In another development, Defense Ministry officials confirmed Mofaz has approved the construction of 3,500 housing units in and around the West Bank's largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem. Maale Adumim has 30,000 residents.
Ministry spokeswoman Shiri Eden said the construction is part of an overall development plan for the settlement approved by the government in 1999. The plan's stages have to be approved separately.
Israeli media said some of the new units would be built between the settlement and Jerusalem, three miles away.
Sharon has said he expects to keep Maaleh Adumim as part of any permanent deal with the Palestinians. The Palestinians, who claim all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem as part of a future independent state, condemned the construction.
Source
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |
|