RAMALLAH, West Bank -Israel will lift travel restrictions on Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and abandon several major checkpoints as part of its withdrawal from five towns in the coming weeks, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday.
Free travel would be the most tangible improvement yet in the lives of ordinary Palestinians, sending a strong message that a
cease-fire with Israel is beginning to pay off. Abbas made the announcement a day after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at a Mideast summit in Egypt.
A senior Israeli military official confirmed that several roadblocks would be removed as part of the handover of security responsibility for the five towns to the Palestinians. The handover of Jericho, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Ramallah will occur during the next three weeks, according to a timetable agreed to by Abbas and Sharon on Tuesday.
A second meeting between the two, set for Sharon's Sycamore Ranch in southern Israel, could take place in the coming days or a week
said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Sharon.
At the Egypt summit, Abbas and Sharon announced an end to hostilities, raising hopes of ending the violence and restarting long-stalled peace moves.
Palestinian gunmen attacked Israeli motorists in two shootings in the West Bank, causing no injuries, and a 22-year-old Palestinian walking near a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip was seriously wounded yesterday by gunfire from the direction of the settlement.
The army said it had fired warning shots at four people who entered an unauthorized area near the Gush Katif block of settlements, but could not confirm hitting anyone.
Abbas has been working to prevent militant attacks on Israel and planned to head to Gaza yesterday evening to meet with leaders of armed groups. Sharon has responded with promises to release prisoners and pull out of the West Bank towns.
On his return to his West Bank office in Ramallah yesterday Abbas said: We agreed that they (Israelis) will pull out of five Palestinian... cities and surrounding areas and also on the removal of roadblocks which will be manned by the Palestinian forces.
Israeli army checkpoints have devastated the Palestinian economy in recent years. They ring all West Bank towns, manned by soldiers checking documents of those seeking to pass.
Long lines form at the checkpoints and troops often use them to seal off towns entirely. Israel says it needs the checkpoints to prevent attacks.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia met with the West Bank security commanders and instructed them to be prepared to take responsibility for the five areas, participants said.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said Israel and the Palestinians would form four committees that would begin meeting next week to coordinate the moves.
At the summit, Egypt and Jordan announced they would return their ambassadors to Israel after a four-year absence. Gissin said the ambassadors would arrive within the next two weeks.
The Palestinians wanted the summit to signal the start of new peace moves, but Israeli officials say Sharon wants to carry out his withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank this summer before entering into negotiations on a final peace deal.
The pullout hit a bump when Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said he would lead a campaign to put the plan to a national referendum, which could delay the pullout for months. Shalom would be hard-pressed to muster parliamentary support for a national vote.
Israeli commentators said Shalom posed the challenge to Sharon partly because he was upset about not being asked to attend the summit. Sharon opposes a referendum as a delaying tactic.
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A Palestinian fruit seller organizes a mound of grapefruits that he sells along with other produce to passing drivers in front of the Israeli army guard tower and wall at the Kalandia checkpoint, on the edge of the West Bank town of Ramallah yesterday. Is
