Israel Transfers Land

In a new atmosphere of beating deadlines instead of bypassing them, Israel transferred 7 percent of the West Bank to Palestinian administrative control Friday, three days ahead of schedule.

The handover, concluding the first stage of a new Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, took the Palestinians a step closer to their ultimate goal of statehood and boosted trust between the two sides after years of deadlock and broken promises.

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Ziad Abu Ziad said he was encouraged by Israel's speedy implementation of the agreement - the release of 199 Palestinian security prisoners on Thursday and the first land transfer, both ahead of deadline.

"I hope that these positive developments will continue," he said.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, are to launch talks on a historic final peace accord that would end decades of hostility and bloodshed.

The talks, to be concluded by September 2000, will address sensitive issues, including the borders and nature of the Palestinian entity and the future of Jewish settlements.

The transferred land is sparsely populated and covers 160 square miles, or half the size of New York City's five boroughs.

Dotting the West Bank from north to south, the new areas fill some of the gaps between the scattered chunks of land already under Palestinian rule.

Ahead of the handover, the Palestinians had full or partial control over 29 percent of the West Bank. Once the three-stage Israeli pullback stipulated by the new peace agreement is completed by Jan. 20, the Palestinians will control a little over 40 percent of the West Bank.

No Israeli troop redeployment was required because the areas transferred did not contain army bases. Palestinian security officials said that on Monday, they would tour the areas with their Israeli colleagues.

In the Palestinian village of Tarkumia, which came under Palestinian administrative control Friday, there was optimism, but no sign of change.

Mohammed Sabasas, a 31-year-old shopkeeper, noted that Israeli soldiers will retain a presence. "We will still see the Israelis in our village, but it (the transfer) is a good step toward the liberation of all our Palestinian areas," Sabasas said.

The handover took effect after Arafat and Israeli officers met at his Gaza City office, reviewed the handover maps and then signed them. Arafat later phoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to congratulate him on the Jewish New Year, which begins at sundown.

The land transfer caused hardly a ripple in Israel, with many Israelis preoccupied with preparations for the holiday. A majority of Israelis support Barak's land-for-peace policies, provided Islamic militants don't resume terror attacks.

Jewish settlers, who in the past tried to block troop withdrawals with violent protests, were silent. Settler leaders said thy were saving their energies for the upcoming pullbacks in November and January, which they say will isolate many settlements and turn them into convenient targets for Palestinian militants.

Also Friday, Barak suggested for the first time that if an outline for a final agreement was not reached by Feb. 15, the deadline set in the new peace accord, there was no point in going on with the negotiations.

"Whoever can't make a framework agreement in five months won't achieve an overall, full agreement even in five years," Barak told Israel army radio.

In an interview with the London-based Jewish Chronicle this week, the Israeli leader said he could envision negotiating long-term interim agreements on some sensitive issues. Barak would not name the issues.

However, Cabinet Minister Haim Ramon, who is close to Barak, has said he does not believe it is possible to reach agreement on Jerusalem and the refugees by September 2000. Ramon recommended a two-stage process, signing a permanent peace treaty on all the other subjects while leaving Jerusalem and the refugee problem open for further negotiations over a longer period.

Abu Ziad said the Palestinians would never accept keeping some issues off the table. "Leaving the door open to long-term negotiations will mean converting the interim arrangements into final agreements, something we totally reject," he said.

The Palestinians hope to establish their state, with east Jerusalem as a capital, within a year, and have left open the possibility of a unilateral declaration of statehood if September 2000 passes without agreement.