World

U.S. Examines Sharon Withdraw Plan

April 2, 2004 / 4:41 AM EST / CBS/AP

A delegation of three U.S. envoys led by Assistant Secretary of State William Burns was holding talks in Jerusalem Thursday, as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presented a sweeping defense of his plan to remove Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

The U.S. delegation was to meet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss his plan, about which it has mixed feelings, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger: It fears that if the pullout is not coordinated with the Palestinian Authority, then Gaza could fall into the hands of the Islamic militant group Hamas. The delegation will also discuss the plan with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.

In other developments:

A shootout erupted at a mental hospital in the West Bank town of Bethlehem when soldiers and Palestinian militants holed up in the building traded fire. Twelve wanted Palestinians later surrendered the army said. No one was injured.

A senior military officer told The Jerusalem Post there has been no escalation in terror threats against Israelis or Jews outside Israel since the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin last month. "Maybe it's still too early," he said.

Fifteen people were arrested Thursday as clashes continued between Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank.

Sharon announced earlier this week that he would hold a binding referendum among 200,000 Likud members on the withdrawal plan. The party is divided over the withdrawal plan, with several senior Likud figures opposing it. Initial polls suggest a pullback would win narrow approval.

"Remaining in the current situation is dangerous for Israel," Sharon told a high-tech conference Wednesday night, in what was seen as the start of his campaign to win support for the plan among members of his hawkish Likud Party.

In his speech, Sharon warned that the status quo is untenable. "The world will not allow a deadlock to continue. A deadlock will bring sooner or later proposals that are dangerous for Israel," he said.

Details of his "disengagement plan" are still being worked out in discussions with the United States. The government has discussed removing troops and settlers from most or all of Gaza and some areas of the West Bank if peace talks remain frozen.

Sharon said Israel must draw its own security line, which would mean "withdrawal from areas that it is clear will not be under Israeli control in any permanent agreement to be signed in the future, which cause great friction between Israelis and Palestinians — the Gaza Strip, for example."

The team of U.S. envoys was making its third visit to the region since February to discuss details of Sharon's plan. Sharon is to meet President Bush in Washington on April 14 to discuss it further.

There were no injuries in the pre-dawn gun battle in Bethlehem. Troops entered the biblical town to arrest wanted militants believed to be behind suicide bombings in Israel who were living in the hospital's administrative buildings, the army said.

Witnesses said the forces were backed by a tank and helicopters.

The troops surrounded the buildings and called on the suspects to surrender. The Palestinians shot toward the forces, who responded with gunfire.

After an hour-long shootout that woke local residents, 20 Palestinians surrendered, filing out of the building one by one. Twelve of them, including the local leader and other members of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, were arrested before the troops withdrew from the town, the army said.