(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Israel will not transfer the West Bank town of Kalkilya to the PA this week as previously announced. Israeli officials said the delay is due to escalating Palestinian violence in the West Bank where a series of shooting attacks over the last 10 days, perpetrated mainly by Islamic Jihad, killed three Israelis. U.S. Secretary of State Rice and the American security coordinator in the region, Gen. Ward, both told Israeli officials recently that Israel must allow PA forces to obtain more arms to enable them to impose order in the PA, particularly on Hamas. But Israel rejected this demand, saying that to date, the PA has not demonstrated any interest in acting against the terrorist organizations, and any weapons its policemen receive are more likely to be used in attacks against Israelis, as happened last week.
2005-06-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive