Palestinians, U.S. working on joint statement; Sharon signals end of incursions
Mon Apr 15,11:28 PM ET
By HADEEL WAHDAN, Associated Press Writer
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian and U.S. negotiators are working on a joint statement condemning suicide bombings and endorsing creation of a Palestinian state, officials said, while Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) said his troops would leave two of the four West Bank towns they are occupying within a week.
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However, early Tuesday Israeli tanks re-entered Tulkarem, one of two towns evacuated April 9. Witnesses said tanks rolled in from four directions, covered by attack helicopters. The Israeli military said the incursion was aimed at making arrests, not reoccupying the town.
Also, the military said forces were searching for suspects and weapons in the Askar refugee camp next to Nablus as well as the West Bank villages of Hirbet Beit Hassan, Fara, Luba Sharkiyeh, A-Ram and Anata.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) postponed a meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites), Palestinian officials said, hoping that the joint statement could be worked out before the session in Arafat's besieged Ramallah headquarters, now set for Wednesday. Powell is to meet Sharon on Tuesday.
In Ramallah Monday, Israeli forces arrested a top Palestinian militant linked to Arafat and also detained two Hamas leaders.
Marwan Barghouti, accused by Israel of leading the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which has claimed responsibility for dozens of shooting attacks and, lately, suicide bombings in Israel, was captured by Israeli forces not far from Arafat's office.
Barghouti, 41, is Arafat's man on the ground in the West Bank, leading his Fatah (news - web sites) movement and Tanzim militia. Barghouti has never admitted commanding the Al Aqsa group.
Sharon said that Barghouti "is responsible for horrible murders of hundreds of Israelis. He will be brought to trial in the state of Israel." Asked in an Israel Radio interview about the view that Barghouti could be a partner for peace talks, Sharon replied, "I suggest to Israel not to search out murderers as partners," saying that Israel had done that once before and reaped negative results — a reference to Arafat.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Barghouti turned Tanzim into "the most murderous of the terrorist organizations committing most of the recent attacks against Israel, attacks of all types, but principally suicide attacks including female bombers, shootings and bombings." On Friday, a woman bomber from the Al Aqsa group killed herself and six other people in Jerusalem.
Also, Israeli forces in Ramallah arrested two leaders of the militant Hamas, Jamal Tawil and Fayez Abu Wardeh, Palestinians and the military said.
Sharon told CNN that Israel would pull out of the West Bank towns of Jenin and Nablus within a week. "Altogether, we are on our way out," he said, but added that Israeli forces would remain in Ramallah and Bethlehem until suspected militants there surrender.
Later, in a phone conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites), Sharon repeated his commitment to pull back from Jenin and Nablus within a week, the White House said. Bush has been pressing Israel to end its offensive in the West Bank, begun March 29 after a series of bloody Palestinian suicide bomb attacks in Israel. Bush welcomed Sharon's pledge as "a positive development."
In the interview, Sharon said the assassins of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, gunned down in a Jerusalem hotel on Oct. 17, are in Arafat's Ramallah compound, and a standoff at the Church of the Nativity continued between Israeli forces outside and about 200 Palestinian gunmen inside.
Pope John Paul (news - web sites) II telephoned the priests in the ancient church on Monday, thanking the faithful for their "Christian testimony," the Vatican (news - web sites) said. The oldest part of the church complex, a massive stone basilica built in the fourth century, marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Sharon also said that Powell's meeting with Arafat Sunday was a mistake. "The problem with Yasser Arafat is that you cannot reach peace with him," Sharon said. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat retorted, "Sharon has shown that he is beyond rehabilitation. He will never change." Erekat charged that Sharon "is turning our towns into big prisons."
Palestinian and U.S. officials were to meet Tuesday to continue work on a joint statement, Palestinian officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The first draft of the statement, obtained by The Associated Press, declares that the Palestinian goal of a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip (news - web sites) and east Jerusalem must be attained "through negotiations, not terror and violence."
The statement, meant to be signed by Arafat, condemns "all terror against Israelis and Palestinians," and says the Palestinians are "ready to do our part against those who continue terror activities and suicide bombings." The Palestinians add the phrase "in accordance with our abilities," a reference to their charge that Israel's large-scale offensive has wrecked Palestinian security forces.
In the Jenin refugee camp at the northern edge of the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and Red Cross teams began gathering the bodies of Palestinians killed during the weeklong battle. Palestinians charge that Israel committed a massacre there; Sharon called that a "lie."
Foul smells rose from beneath buildings wrecked in the fighting, and some residents have tried digging with their hands to check for people or animals. Most reporters were still banned from the area, though the Israeli military guided small groups of journalists through parts of the devastated camp.
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