Israel may Pull out of Hebron by Weekend: Defense Minister

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Israel may Pull out of Hebron by Weekend: Defense Minister

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Tuesday that intensive efforts were under way to pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank city of Hebron, Israel Army Radio reported.

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Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Tuesday that intensive efforts were under way to pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank city of Hebron, Israel Army Radio reported.

The withdrawal could take place by the weekend if the situation remains calm to permit such a move, said the minister.

"Right now we are in the midst of talks... on widening the area (of a withdrawal) from 'Bethlehem First' to 'All of Judea First'," Ben Eliezer told the radio from Paris. Judea is the Biblical term used by Israel for the southern West Bank.

Israel and the Palestinians were holding "deep discussions" to work out an agreement for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron, he said, adding "I hope that about the weekend this will happen, if the conditions are right."

"If the situation permits us to leave Hebron, I will of course encourage this," he said.

According to "Gaza-Bethlehem First" plan proposed by Ben Eliezer months ago, Israeli forces will withdraw from a defined area in the Palestinian territories and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) security forces would move in and maintain calm.

Soon after the deal was struck, troops left the West Bank city of Bethlehem and the area has since remained quiet. That is not the case in Gaza where daily attacks on Jewish settlements and Israeli forces continue.

The United States asked Israel to pull out of at least one of the six West Bank cities to cool tempers in the Israel-Palestinian conflict ahead of a planned attack on Iraq.

The US Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer delivered a message to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over the weekend, which featured sharp criticism of Israel's failure to implement humanitarian measures and Israeli forces' activities in the territories.

The American message accused Israel of violating its promises to relieve economic and social distress in the territories, dismantle roadblocks and lift some internal closures.

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