(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - The IDF will transfer security responsibility for Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday. The transfer of authority will not require any redeployment of IDF troops, since the army has no fixed presence in Bethlehem. However, the move will prevent the IDF from entering the city to arrest wanted men, which it has done freely until now. Israel will continue to control the area around Rachel's Tomb, as stipulated in the Oslo Accords. In Gaza, there have been occasional shooting incidents - including three directed at IDF outposts in the Gush Katif bloc Tuesday and an attempt to fire a mortar at settlements in the area. In security meetings with their Israeli counterparts, Palestinian officers said they were having trouble imposing control in the Khan Yunis area and in Rafah, and that it would take time before they stopped the attacks in those areas. Palestinians opened fire Wednesday on workers building the separation fence near Tulkarm in the West Bank, injuring two. Also Wednesday, a bomb was detonated near a separation fence worksite on the outskirts of Kalkilya. (Jerusalem Post)
2003-07-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive