Israel to Lift West Bank Travel Ban

Abbas made the announcement after returning to the West Bank from a Middle East summit in Egypt, where he and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared an end to four years of bloodshed. Freedom of travel would greatly improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians, as the roadblocks have decimated their economy.

Abbas said Israel had assured him that travel bans would soon be eased and several major checkpoints will be removed as part of its military withdrawal from five Palestinian towns in the coming weeks.

“We agreed that they (Israelis) will pull out of five Palestinian ... cities and surrounding areas, and also on the removal of roadblocks, which will be manned by the Palestinian forces,” Abbas said.

“The results of the summit were positive and it is a real test for both parts to implement it,” Abbas added.

A senior Israeli military official confirmed that several roadblocks would be removed as part of the handover of security responsibility for the five towns to the Palestinians. The official did not list them. Roadblocks between the West Bank and Israel are to remain in place.

Israeli Army checkpoints ring all West Bank towns, where soldiers check documents of those who seek to pass. Long lines often form at the checkpoints, and troops often close them to seal off towns entirely.

Israel says it needs the checkpoints to stop bombers and other attackers. However, in a recent report, the World Bank cited Israeli restrictions on the flow of people and goods as the main cause of economic hardship in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where nearly half of Palestinians live on less than $ 2a day.

The truce declaration has raised hopes of ending the violence and restarting peace moves. Israel is to hand over security control in the towns of Jericho, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Bethlehem and Ramallah in the next three weeks. Abbas and Sharon agreed to the timetable Tuesday.

A second meeting between the two, to take place at Sharon’s Sycamore Ranch in southern Israel, could take place “in the coming days or a week,” said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Sharon. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said the meeting would take place within a week.

However, the threat of violence remains. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said the truce is not binding on them, and Palestinian officials yesterday warned that the Lebanese group Hezbollah may try to derail the cease-fire.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei met with the West Bank security commanders and told them the Jericho pullout could take place within days, said a top security official.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel had also turned over the names of 350 wanted militants. In exchange for amnesty from Israel, the militants must surrender their weapons to Palestinian forces and pledge not to carry out any violence.

At the summit, Egypt and Jordan announced they would return their ambassadors to Israel after a four-year absence. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the Jordanian ambassador would be Marouf Al-Bakhit.

— Additional input from agencies

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