- (CNN) -- The Israeli army announced late Monday it is
beginning to withdraw troops from the West Bank towns of Qalqilya and Tulkarem
after its forces "seriously harmed the terror infrastructure"
there.
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- The withdrawal began hours after U.S. President Bush
reiterated his demand that Israel withdraw "without delay" from
Palestinian areas and after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the
Knesset that the overall military operation would end when the "mission
was completed."
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- Col. Moshe Fogel, a spokesman for the Israel Defense
Forces, told CNN the forces may "continue withdrawing" from other
West Bank areas, but that would be contingent on Israel's gains against
terrorists.
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- "We're not going to leave until we're making sure
we are hitting hard at the terrorist infrastructure," Fogel said.
"We're intent upon going through and capturing as many terrorists
as we can."
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- He said it is Israel's goal to stop terrorists "before
they get to Israeli coffee houses, Israeli restaurants and blow up innocent
men, women and children."
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- Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer "in coordination"
with Sharon had ordered troops to redeploy around Qalqilya and Tulkarem
and "cordon off the cities," according to the Israeli Defense
Ministry.
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- The ministry statement said the decision was reached
"in view of the fact that the IDF operation in those cities has been
completed."
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- The operation "seriously harmed the infrastructure
of terror" and resulted in the arrests of dozens of Palestinian militants
and the capture of weapons, the statement said.
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- The White House made clear Monday night that while it
welcomed Israel's commitment to withdraw from the two towns, it did not
consider the pledge enough to meet the administration's demand for a complete
Israeli pullback "without delay."
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- "It's a start," White House press secretary
Ari Fleischer said in a statement. "As the president said last Thursday,
all parties in the Middle East have responsibilities and the president
expects all parties to step up to them."
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- Bush also said the Arab world had a responsibility to
work for peace by standing up and condemning terrorism.
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- In his Knesset speech, Sharon told the legislators that
when the operation ends, the military will withdraw to "security zones"
to prevent future terrorist attacks on Israel. He did not spell out where
those zones will be, but the presumption is the West Bank.
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- Sharon also praised the Saudi peace initiative of Crown
Prince Abdullah and said he would talk with U.S. Secretary of State Colin
Powell about a peace summit "with the responsible leaders in the Middle
East." (Speech excerpts)
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- After his speech, Sharon met with U.S. Middle East envoy
Anthony Zinni met, according to the prime minister's office. The meeting
was scheduled after several other Bush administration contacts with the
Israeli government conveyed frustration that Israel had not heeded Bush's
weekend call to end the offensive, a White House spokesman said.
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- Powell arrived Monday in Morocco on the first stop of
a Middle East trip. He is expected in Israel on Wednesday or Thursday,
but officials noted his schedule could change with the situation in the
Middle East. Powell said Sunday he would meet with Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat during his trip "if circumstances permit."
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- The United Nations and the European Union both issued
fresh appeals Monday for an Israeli withdrawal. (Full story on diplomatic
action)
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- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat called Sharon's
speech "disastrous."
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- "When he is defying, he is really defying President
Bush's call for withdrawal, for stopping incursions," Erakat said.
"He's saying I will delay my presence. Clearly he has resumed occupation
and announced now that he will create buffer zones in areas where the Israelis
will resume the occupation."
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- Shortly after Sharon's Knesset speech, Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein announced an immediate halt to oil exports for 30 days or
until Israeli forces unconditionally withdraw from Palestinian territories.
Oil prices jumped on world markets shortly after Hussein's announcement.
(Full story)
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- Raids in Ramallah, roundup in Nablus
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- In Jenin, Palestinian sources said the Israeli military
was in almost total control of the city and its refugee camp. They said
only one group of Palestinian gunmen was putting up resistance after a
number of others gave up.
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- Israel Defense Forces said two of its soldiers were killed
Monday in fighting in Jenin.
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- Israeli forces fired at least 19 missiles into the Jenin
refugee camp early in the day. Soldiers used loudspeakers to warn residents
to evacuate before launching the strike. When some residents refused, they
were evacuated by force. Most residents were still in the camp when the
strike began.
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- There was no immediate word on Palestinian casualties.
The IDF said searches in the camp turned up explosives labs, Qassam rockets,
an unexploded car bomb and mortar shells. (Full story)
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- In Nablus, the West Bank's largest city, Israeli troops
surrounded a group of Palestinian gunmen in the casbah, the center of the
city, Palestinian sources said. The IDF said "close to 100" gunmen
had surrendered, and 13 weapons caches and explosives labs had been uncovered.
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- The incursions into Jenin and Nablus were expected to
end by Monday, said Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, head of the Israel army's operations
section. He said the timetable depended on the number of civilians in each
place.
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- In Ramallah, Israeli forces raided the offices of several
news organizations and one U.S. aid organization Monday, using gunfire
and explosives to enter the buildings, according to eyewitnesses.
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- Israeli troops have taken control of six Palestinian
towns in the West Bank since the offensive began March 29. The operation
started during a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings over the Passover
holiday. Israeli officials have said their goal is to capture terrorists'
weapons and destroy their bomb-making capability.
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- While the West Bank operation continued, the IDF said
it was sending more troops to its northern border with Lebanon in an attempt
to control cross-border attacks from Hezbollah militants. (Full story)
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