Israel to discuss possible Hebron withdrawal

Israeli and Palestinian officials are to discuss later today a possible withdrawal from the southern West Bank city of Hebron…

Israeli and Palestinian officials are to discuss later today a possible withdrawal from the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

Following an agreement on the "Bethlehem and Gaza First" plan, the army withdrew from the southern West Bank town of Bethlehem on Monday and Palestinian security services took over.

The plan provides for a phased Israeli pullout from recently reoccupied areas in exchange for a Palestinian crackdown on militants there.

But a withdrawal had not yet started in the Gaza Strip, where violence continued yesterday and today.

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The Hebron settlers' council has called on the Israeli government not to withdraw troops from the divided city, where some 400 heavily guarded Jewish settlers live surrounded by about 120,000 Palestinians.

AFP