(Jerusalem Post) Margot Dudkevitch - Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Thursday ordered the army to prepare to hand over to Palestinian security control the West Bank cities of Bethlehem next week and Kalkilya the week after. Mofaz stressed the need for the Palestinians to disarm all fugitives and ensure they sign a pledge to refrain from terrorist activities. Palestinian officials said on Thursday that hundreds of Nablus gunmen would move into the Palestinian police forces as a way of bringing them under control. The officials said that under the tentative agreement, 700 gunmen would be absorbed into the security services. However, Palestinians admitted that even with the Nablus accord, large-scale collection of weapons is not on the horizon.
2005-06-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive