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Israel Prepares to Withdraw from Northern Gaza
(Ha'aretz) - - Arnon Regular et al. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet Sunday that the IDF is preparing to quit the Beit Hanun area of northern Gaza and transfer it to the Palestinian security services. At the same time, Israel is giving positive consideration to a Palestinian request to expand the "pilot project" to include Bethlehem. On Saturday night, Maj. Gen. Amos Gilad, the government coordinator in the territories, met at U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer's Herzliya residence with Palestinian Security Minster Mohammed Dahlan to discuss the arrangement. On Sunday, in addition to five rockets fired from the Beit Hanun area toward Sderot, there were four rockets fired from the southern part of the Gaza Strip at Israeli border villages, signifying an apparent Hamas shift to southern Gaza. Sharon told the cabinet that Israel has prepared a set of principles for a meeting with John Wolf, the American diplomat sent to oversee the implementation of the road map. The principles include the 14 reservations Israel's government attached to the road map when it was approved two weeks ago.