16 Palestinian deportees return home

On Sunday, the Israeli Cabinet is set to vote on a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements this summer. Easy passage is expected.

Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza Strip security chief, told Israel Radio Friday that the withdrawal would not be conducted under Palestinian fire.

But he warned that if the Israeli army does not leave the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza Strip-Egypt border, then the patrol road risked turning into another Shebaa Farms, a disputed area near the Israel-Lebanon border where Lebanese Hizbullah fighters periodically launch attacks on Israeli soldiers, Israel Radio said.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/180273

[Middle East News]: Sixteen of the estimated 55 Palestinian expelled by Israel from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip over the past four years were allowed to return home on Friday.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said that 20 of the 39 Palestinian deported from Bethlehem to Europe in 2002 could also be allowed to return.

Mofaz also decided to let Palestinians age 16 to 25 to enter the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah, and to allow 1,500 Gaza workers into Israel.

At least 55 people were deported to the Gaza Strip during the four-years uprising, or intifada, which ended at the Middle East summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh on February 8.

A further 39 sought refuge in Europe after they were expelled at the end of a month-long siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002.

Israeli officials said that the 20 Bethlehem deportees were not involved in deadly attacks againts Israeli citizens, adding that they will be allowed to return to the West Bank after Israel hands over the security control of Bethlehem to the Palestinians.


That handover is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat also said that Israel agreed to let "all" Palestinians expelled to Gaza and Europe return home.

However, it is not clear whether Israel will allow all the exiles to return.

'Not enough'

On Thursday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said that it will end the policy of demolishing the houses of Palestinian fighters after an internal military report said that the policy didn’t stop Palestinian attacks but increased the hatred and hostility towards Israel.

Human rights organization Amnesty International hailed the decision to end the demolitions in case of attacks, but said the reversal did not go far enough.

http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=121091


Israel agrees to allow return of Palestinian deportees; Hamas eyes truce pact
12:46 PM EST Feb 18
IBRAHIM BARZAK

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israel has agreed to repatriate dozens of Palestinians it expelled from the West Bank during the Palestinian uprising, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Saturday, disclosing the latest measure building on this week's ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the militant Palestinian group Hamas said Saturday it will not attack Israeli targets, but held off from officially joining a Palestinian ceasefire with Israel agreed upon during last week's summit in Egypt.

Israel deported about 55 Palestinians accused of terror activities to the Gaza Strip and Europe after the uprising started in September 2000. The majority were exiled after a month-long siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002.

Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Sharon, said Saturday the deportees would be allowed to go home, but he had no timetable for their return.

"We promise that they won't be arrested upon their return," Gissin said. "We are freezing all proceedings against them as long as they refrain from terror activities."

The announcement of the repatriation came just days after Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared a truce at a summit in Egypt. Both sides agreed that a committee would be created to review the return of deportees.

"Today, we received good news that an agreement was reached with the Israeli side to allow us to return to our cities . . . each to his home, each to his city, within a short period of time," Ghanem Sweilem, who was exiled from his home in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus more than two years ago, said after deportees met with Abbas in Gaza City.

"We have been told that we should be able to return within one or two weeks."

The repatriations are part of a larger controversy between Israel and the Palestinians over the release of Palestinian prisoners. Israel has agreed to free 900 of the estimated 8,000 Palestinians it is holding, but the Palestinians want a broader release and freedom for those imprisoned before the September 1993 peace accords.

A Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, told The Associated Press the group will wait to see whether Israel stops its military activities and targeted killings of Palestinian militants before deciding whether to join the truce agreed upon by Abbas and Sharon.

"Up to this moment, we are committed to the previous agreement with Mr. Abbas, and we are going to see how the Israelis" will act, Zahar told AP.

Hamas, which opposes Israel's existence, pledged to Abbas it would stop attacks against the Jewish state as part of a general halt to violence by all militant groups. Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis during the past four years of fighting.

Until now, Abbas has insisted he would not confront the militant groups and disarm them, preferring negotiations. He has hinted, however, that his patience is not boundless.

In addition, Palestinian and Israeli officials were to meet Saturday night to discuss Israel's planned handover of five West Bank towns, an easing of restrictions on Palestinian travel, and security issues, an Israeli Defence Ministry official said.

The ceasefire has coincided with renewed action by the United States to get the internationally backed "road map" peace plan back on track.

The new U.S. security co-ordinator for the Middle East, army Lt.-Gen. William Ward, will make his first trip to the region later this month to confer with Arab leaders and Palestinian and Israeli security officials.

Ward will be a go-between for Israelis and Palestinians, making him the first American presence in more than three years. He also has been assigned to help improve Palestinian security forces, an important underpinning for the eventual goal of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050212/w021240.html