Israel Gets U.N. To Delay For A Day
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday agreed to a one-day delay in the arrival of a U.N. team to probe Israel's military assault on the Jenin refugee camp.
Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres asked Annan to delay the arrival of the three-member team from Saturday until Sunday night so the Israeli Cabinet can take a formal decision on the mission at a meeting on Sunday morning, Undersecretary-General Kieran Prendergast said.
Israel gave a green light to a fact-finding mission last Friday, saying it had "nothing to hide." But after Annan announced the members of the team on Monday, Israel asked for a delay to seek changes in its composition and mandate.
Meanwhile, President Bush said Friday the time had now come for Israel to complete its withdrawal from Palestinian areas occupied in a campaign to halt suicide bombings.
"There has been some progress but it's now time to put it all together. It's time to end this. Well, we'll see what happens. I know they've heard us," Mr. Bush told reporters at his ranch in Texas.
After insisting as late as Friday morning that there would be no delay, Annan changed his mind because of the Jewish Sabbath -- which began at sundown on Friday, preventing the Israeli Cabinet from voting on whether to allow the mission.
"A formal decision will be taken on Sunday morning," Prendergast told reporters. "As you know it's now the Sabbath in Israel, and given the circumstances of the Sabbath, the secretary-general has agreed to a request by the foreign minister of Israel that the team should postpone its arrival until Sunday evening."
Israeli troops re-entered a West Bank town Friday to grab suspected militants, while four Palestinian policemen surrendered to Israeli troops ringing Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity and two men in the compound were wounded by Israeli snipers.
At another flash point, Yasser Arafat's West Bank headquarters, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades toward hundreds of Palestinians protesting the Palestinian leader's confinement by Israel. At one point, Palestinians fired several live rounds from a nearby building. Israeli troops responded with live fire, and the crowd quickly dispersed. Eleven people were injured, none by shooting.
In Israel's raid of the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, Raed Nazal, the local leader of a radical PLO faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was killed in a firefight, the military said. Sixteen Palestinians were arrested in the town, including several who were on Israel's wanted list. About two dozen Palestinians were arrested in villages near Qalqiliya, Palestinians said.
The raid of Qalqiliya is part of the follow-up to Israel's three-week military offensive against Palestinian militants, during which Israel occupied six of eight West Bank towns. Israel has withdrawn from most of those areas. In the new stage, Israel says it will send troops into Palestinian areas whenever there is information about the whereabouts of suspects — meaning the boundaries between territory under Palestinian and Israeli control in the West Bank are increasingly being blurred.
"We have no choice but to launch these incursions to prevent attacks," said Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. "There is no intention on our part to remain here."
At the Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's holiest shrines, there were signs Friday that a standoff between more than 200 Palestinians, including about 30 militiamen, and Israeli troops was entering the final phase.
On Friday, four Palestinians surrendered, the Israeli military said. Palestinians said all four were policemen. Two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli sniper fire while moving in the compound, the army said. The two were evacuated and given medical treatment.
The dispute now centers on the fate of six wanted Palestinians in the church — whether they will be escorted to Gaza, as the Palestinians propose, or be sent into exile, as Israel demands, said Palestinian negotiator Salah Taameri, who was to meet Saturday with Arafat to discuss the deal.
Capt. Joel Leyden of the Israeli military said negotiations would not be open-ended. "At some point, if we have to use a military option, we will," Leyden said.
On Thursday, nine Palestinians, ages 14 to 20, left the church, bringing with them two rotting corpses, in an agreement with the Israelis.
Eight were allowed to go home Friday, after a night of questioning by Israeli forces. A ninth was kept in custody, with military officials saying the youth would be further interrogated, and may be released if his offenses were deemed minor.