The US praised Israel's Wednesday withdrawal of troops and tanks from Ramallah, amid reports that a pullout from two more West Bank towns - Jenin and Tulkarm - was possible soon. Meanwhile, Israeli forces shot dead one Palestinian near Hebron, and troops killed another in the Gaza Strip, said reports.
"I am pleased that the Israelis have withdrawn from Ramallah and I hope they will withdraw from the other villages in the near future," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said, according to Reuters.
Depite the pullout, Israel still has crippling blockades on many Palestinian areas and the tanks redeployed just outside Ramallah, a major commercial hub north of occupied Jerusalem, said the agency.
In the Ramallah withdrawal, Israeli tanks, jeeps and armored personnel carriers rolled out of the northern neighborhoods past several Palestinians, who according to AP stood in the heavy rain holding a sign with an arrow and the words: "Tel Aviv that way, and stay out."
Israel re-occupied several towns under Palestinian control after the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine killed a cabinet minister in retaliation for the assassination of its own leader.
The US has been putting intense pressure on both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in hopes of calming regional tensions that could trip up its international anti-terrorism campaign.
In a sign that Palestinians are also under US pressure, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has said he will not declare an independent state when he addresses the UN General Assembly on Sunday.
"The state has been declared in 1988 in Algiers. Are we going to declare it twice?" he told the Middle East Broadcasting Center in an interview.
Palestinians are engaged in a 13-month uprising against 34 years of Israeli military occupation. Over 700 Palestinians and more than 190 Israelis have so far been killed in the fighting, according to agencies.
MORE DEATHS REPORTED AS CLASHES CONTINUE
More causalties were reported on Wednesday, as a Palestinian man wanted in the shooting of a Jewish settler was shot as Israeli border police attempted to arrest him near Hebron, CNN cited Israeli authorities as saying.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed the death of Issa Dababfeh, an activist in Arafat's Fateh movement, said the network.
In contrast with the CNN account, AP quoted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as saying the man was responsible for several deadly attacks on Israelis and was "eliminated" by undercover troops.
In another incident Wednesday, CNN said Palestinians launched three mortar shells at the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources, meanwhile, said a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire in the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza, according to the network - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
