950805

Israel ready to

withdraw from

most West Bank

towns: Hebron

'Israel ready to pull out

from most West Bank towns'

JERUSALEM: Israel is ready to withdraw its military forces from all West Bank towns except Hebron before the end of the year, Israeli state television reported here on Friday.

Israeli officials negotiating with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the Red Sea resort of Eilat said the Jewish state was also willing to redeploy its troops away from the towns of Ramallah and Bethlehem before the holding of Palestinian self-rule elections, the reports said.

Up to now, Israel has only been willing to withdraw from these two towns at a later stage and demanded that roads be built around them to safeguard the security of Israeli settlers living in surrounding areas.

The television did not indicate whether Israel had given up the demand for detour roads.

Despite this progress, major differences remain between the two sides, according to television reports and Palestinian sources.

These include a timetable for withdrawing Israeli troops from the countryside in the occupied West Bank, a reduction in the size of the Israeli military presence in Hebron and the control of water, according to television reports.

The Palestinian Authority has called for international arbitration to solve the issue of water resources.

Israel has rejected Palestinian demands to take control of West Bank water resources, saying the aquifers also run under part of Israel.

The Jewish state pumps 650 million cubic metres (22,750 million cubic feet) of water from the aquifers each year, but only 160 million cubic metres (5,600 million cubic feet) go to the Palestinians.

Israel and the PLO resumed the talks, which are already more than a year behind schedule, last Sunday after a week-long suspension following a suicide bombing which left six Israelis dead and 32 wounded in Tel Aviv.-AFP