March, 28 2005	Monday	17 Safar 1426

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AL QUDS, March 27: Israel will delay a promised handover of a third West Bank town to the Palestinians that had been expected this week, political sources said on Sunday. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered the Israeli army to put off a transfer of security control over Qalqilya, saying Palestinians had failed to fulfil a pledge to confiscate weapons from militants in two towns relinquished earlier, they said. Israel had pulled back forces from Jericho and Tulkarm in the past two weeks after promising at a Feb 8 ceasefire summit to transfer security responsibility for five West Bank cities. Security disputes had delayed the earlier handovers too. Senior commanders of both sides had agreed that Israel would pull back forces from Qalqilya, near Tulkarm on the West Bank’s border with central Israel, later this week.

But Mofaz told the cabinet on Sunday that Israel would delay the move because Palestinians had failing to seize guns from 52 militants in Jericho and Tulkarm wanted for suspected involvement in attacks on Israelis.

“Because of that we are not willing to giving them Qalqilya. We are discussing the issue with them. For now we are not going to do that yet,” a political source quoted Mofaz as saying. Mofaz said that planning for the Qalqilya handover would continue. “We gave an order to plan the way Qalqilya will be transferred, but not to transfer it yet,” he said.

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, told Reuters that Israel had not informed the Palestinian government of a delay and urged Israel to carry out its commitments. “The Israeli government has no excuse to delay the handover of the cities,” Erekat said. Palestinian officials have disputed Israel’s position that wanted militants in Jericho and Tulkarm should be disarmed, saying agreements for the handover of these cities called only for gunmen to register weapons and not carry them around. The transfer of West Bank cities to Palestinian security control is seen as an important step towards reviving Middle East peace talks.—Reuters