Palestinian sources reported Thursday morning that Israeli forces had started moving out of the West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus.
Israel occupied these cities as part of its aggressive military drive over two weeks ago. The Israeli army is projected to move its tanks and forces into positions around the cities.
Army Radio quoted defense sources as saying that the Israeli army would reduce its presence in the cities in the coming days until all its forces have been withdrawn.
Israel's Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Wednesday night that Israel would try and withdraw from most Palestinian towns occupied during the offensive by Sunday.
In Bethlehem, Palestinians are still trapped in the Church of the Nativity. Israel has vowed not to storm it, but said “terrorists” inside must surrender.
On Wednesday night, the Israeli army said it had shot and wounded one of two "suspicious" Palestinians after they slipped out of the church. The injured Palestinian was hospitalized while the other retreated into the church compound, it said. This incident occurred as talks were set to begin to try to end the two-week siege.
Witnesses near the church said a man was shot as he moved from one courtyard to another inside the compound. The man, who has not been identified, was believed to be seriously wounded, they said.
Later, 14-year-old Thaher Manasra was lightly wounded in the leg by an Israeli bullet inside the compound, Palestinians there said.
Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Nasser said talks on ending the siege would involve Palestinian and religious officials from Bethlehem and Israeli security and political officials. There would also be US participation, Nasser told AFP.
One of the church's Franciscan monks said that the negotiations were supposed to begin Wednesday night, but were postponed.
A Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that if Israel were willing to withdraw its troops from Bethlehem "we will offer during the meeting that those wanted inside the Nativity Church be arrested by the Palestinian Authority and sent to Gaza."
Most of the 250 people holed up in the church are Palestinian civilians, nuns and monks, but Israel has said there are "about 30 people" who it considered to be “terrorists” and wanted turned over.
Palestinian negotiators have previously rejected as "unacceptable" an offer by Israel to allow the gunmen to either go into permanent exile or face trial in Israel. Nasser said that if the meeting failed to end the impasse, the pope would be asked to intervene.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian teenager, who had been inside the church and fled, described conditions inside the building to AFP.
Jihad Abel Rahman, 16, who was trapped in the church for 13 days, ran away Monday due to the tough conditions, but was caught by Israeli forces who released him on Tuesday. "I ran away because inside the building it was cold and it was like we were in prison," Jihad said in a phone interview from his home in the nearby Dheishe refugee camp. "The situation was terrible inside. We were hungry. We could never sleep, and they (the Israelis) fired all the time," he said.
When he escaped, he said soldiers caught him and ordered him to undress. They tied his hands together and blindfolded him, he added. The Israeli soldiers asked about the morale inside the church and the type of weapons the armed Palestinian possessed, he said.
Elsewhere, in Hebron, Jewish settlers and Palestinians exchanged gunfire on Wednesday night and three Palestinian were injured, Palestinian medics said. The army said one Israeli child was lightly wounded by flying shrapnel.
International aid agencies have been urgently demanding more access to Jenin refugee camp, many of whose 13,000 residents lost their homes.
The International Committee of the Red Cross called for international search and rescue teams to be sent to the Jenin camp to help remove bodies from bulldozed buildings and hunt for possible survivors after residents reported hearing some cries. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
