Israeli soldiers quit village after ceasefire

BEIT JALA - Israel withdrew its forces from Beit Jala yesterday after the Palestinian leadership was reported to have agreed to stop gunmen firing at an Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Two Israeli tanks and other armour withdrew at about 4 am from positions seized in Beit Jala on Tuesday in response to heavy Palestinian gunfire on Gilo, a Jewish settlement Israel regards as an integral part of Jerusalem.

The Israeli Army declined immediate comment, but Israeli radio stations said the pullout was complete. Witnesses in Beit Jala said there appeared to be no Israeli military presence in the mainly Christian town near Bethlehem.

Israel's incursion into parts of Palestinian-ruled Beit Jala heightened international concern that 11 months of conflict could spiral out of control. The raid drew widespread criticism of Israel and demands from the United States to withdraw.

The European Union brokered a deal on Wednesday under which the Israeli forces would pull out of Beit Jala if Palestinians stopped firing at Gilo, which Israel regards as a neighbourhood of Jerusalem.

But just after the deal was reached widespread Palestinian gunfire was directed at Gilo, mostly from a refugee camp near Bethlehem, casting doubt over whether the withdrawal would go ahead.

Israel Radio reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave the order after American Secretary of State Colin Powell told him Palestinian President Yasser Arafat had promised in a telephone call to prevent any future shooting at Gilo.

It said the cabinet agreed that if Palestinians fired again at Gilo the Army would be allowed to enter Beit Jala in even greater numbers, without the approval of the cabinet.

Israel handed Beit Jala over to Palestinian rule in 1995 under interim peace accords.

The military raid on the Beit Jala was one of the lengthiest Israeli incursions since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted 11 months ago.

In southern Gaza, armoured Israeli bulldozers demolished three houses near the border with Egypt early on Thursday as gun battles raged in the Rafah area close to where Palestinians reported an Israeli raid into their territory.

The Israeli decision to pull out of Beit Jala came amid a flurry of diplomacy as Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres held several rare telephone conversations with Arafat.

Peres told members of his Labour Party he hoped the renewed diplomacy with Arafat was the start of fresh contacts leading to the implementation of US-backed truce-to-talks plan that has never taken effect.

"If things occur as they should next week we should be able to start the more serious talks in order to stop the fighting," Peres said.

"The moment the shooting stops we have no reason to be there," Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on Wednesday, hours before the Israeli pullout. Asked if troops would return to Beit Jala if firing at Gilo resumed, Ben-Eliezer said: "Absolutely".

Powell called Arafat on Wednesday and urged him to resume security cooperation with the Israelis and to do more to end the violence, a State Department spokesman said.

At least four Palestinians and one Israeli were killed on Wednesday. That brought to at least 544 Palestinians and 156 Israelis the number of people killed since the Palestinian revolt began.

- REUTERS

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