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Monday, March 21, 2005

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  Also, the Palestinian Interior Ministry has begun placing restrictions on the use of weapons by militants, security officials told The Associated Press, a step toward fulfilling a long-standing Israeli demand that the armed groups be dismantled.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials confirmed that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has approved construction of 3,500 housing units in the West Bank's largest settlement, apparently violating the internationally backed "road map" peace plan. Palestinian officials condemned the project, saying it threatens peace prospects.

The plan, which envisions a Palestinian state, requires Israel to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank. It also requires the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups.

Both sides have failed to meet their obligations, although the Palestinian order to militants appeared to be a first step toward disarming gunmen.

Senior Palestinian security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP, said the Interior Ministry has distributed a letter outlining weapons restrictions to hundreds of militants in the West Bank.

The restrictions limit militants to a single weapon and bar them from loading the weapons or carrying them in public, the official said. He said it also requires them to register their weapons with the ministry.

The ministry has asked militants to sign the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.

Israel welcomed the move as a first step.

Leaders of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant faction affiliated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah (news - web sites) faction, said they were considering the offer but would not sign the pledge until Israel completes its planned withdrawal from five West Bank cities.

"Once Israel withdraws, we'll be able to sign it," said Kamel Ghannam, a group leader in Ramallah.

He added, however, that the group remains opposed to giving up its arms altogether.

"We're afraid this is the first step toward disarming us," he said.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Abbas agreed Feb. 8 that Israel would withdraw from five West Bank towns it entered after the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in September 2000: Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Tulkarem, Jericho and Bethlehem. Israel has withdrawn from Jericho.

After two meetings on Monday, security officers agreed on the handover of Tulkarem, the second of the five towns. The agreement was stalled by a dispute focusing on the control of several roads and villages around Tulkarem, negotiators said.

Israel Radio said Israel would turn over the town itself, while agreeing to resume discussions over the surrounding villages in two weeks. If the areas remain quiet, the villages would be turned over to Palestinian control next month, officials said.

Similar disputes held up the transfer of the isolated desert oasis of Jericho last week. Tulkarem, located on the Israel-West Bank line, is in a much more sensitive location. The attacker in a Feb. 25 suicide bombing that killed five people in Tel Aviv came from one of the villages.

In another development, Defense Ministry officials confirmed Mofaz has approved the construction of 3,500 housing units in and around the West Bank's largest settlement, Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem. Maale Adumim has 30,000 residents.

Ministry spokeswoman Shiri Eden said the construction is part of an overall development plan for the settlement approved by the government in 1999. The plan's stages have to be approved separately.

Israeli media said some of the new units would be built between the settlement and Jerusalem, three miles away.

Sharon has said he expects to keep Maaleh Adumim as part of any permanent deal with the Palestinians. The Palestinians, who claim all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem as part of a future independent state, condemned the construction.

© 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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