Palestinian - Israeli initial agreement
Palestinian officials reported that the Israelis and Palestinians reached on Wednesday an initial agreement on the timetable for an Israeli military withdrawal from the West Bank according to the Wye Plantation agreement.
The sources added that the first phase of the withdrawal will start on September 1 from 70% of the West Bank and that Israel will redeploy from the other 4% by the middle of January, 2000.
This meeting, however, came after a new meeting between negotiators representing the two sides in Jerusalem.
The sources added, however, that the two sides have not reached yet an agreement on releasing 750 Palestinian detainees as stated by the Wye River agreement.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat delayed his scheduled visit to Washington today to continue the talks with Israel.
The same sources talked about intensive efforts being made by Egypt and the US to reach settlements over matters pertaining to unresolved issues and to start final status negotiations during the visit of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the region at the beginning of September.
Concerning other obligations stated in the Wye agreement, especially the secure passage, the start of building Gaza port and other pending matters, the sources said, "Most of these files were definitely closed."
Meantime, the Palestinian government continued a campaign of arrest started several weeks ago, in the lines of the Palestinian resistance movements, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, in the areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources said on Wednesday that, "Some 12 partisans from the two movements were arrested in Bethlehem and its outskirts," and gave no further details on that.
Palestinian security forces ay the beginning of last week detained a five-member group from Bethlehem under the pretext that they were on their way to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, more than 950 new Jewish settlers from Russia arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night. Israel Radio said that with the arrival of the 950 settlers, the number of new settlers who came from Russia this year reached 16,500.