MIDDLE EAST: Israel plans to hand over the northern West Bank town of Jenin to the Palestinian Authority before it evacuates four settlements in the area in August as part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan, Palestinian officials said yesterday.
The handover of Jenin, which has been a hotbed of militancy during the intifada uprising, was discussed at a meeting late Tuesday night between Israeli and Palestinian officials that focused on security co-ordination. Israeli officials said, however, that no timetable had been set for the transfer of Jenin to the Palestinians.
Israel wants some 100 militants on its "wanted" list in Jenin disarmed by the Palestinian Authority before it hands over the town.
So far, Israel has transferred two towns to the Palestinians - Jericho and Tulkarm - but has delayed the handover of more on the grounds that the Palestinian security forces have failed to confiscate militants' weapons.
There were suggestions yesterday that Israel was keen to leave the city in an effort to reduce friction in the area ahead of the evacuation of the settlements there. With Palestinian security forces in control of Jenin, they would be in a better position to prevent looting in the settlements and to thwart attempts by armed groups to take control of the evacuated settler homes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie warned that Palestinians' ultimate goal of statehood was ill-served by lawlessness plaguing the West Bank and Gaza. His cabinet would quit if it failed to impose order, he said, without giving a time frame.
"Chaos is not resistance [ to occupation] and will not bring victory," he said in Nablus.
"If the cabinet succeeds in imposing security and the rule of law, it will stay. If it fails, it will go home."