Israel delays WB pullout

JERUSALEM, Jan 16: Israel decided Saturday to postpone a withdrawal from the West Bank for at least two weeks over a dispute with the Palestinians on the land to be included in the pullout, reports AP.

A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office said the Cabinet would not view the withdrawal maps in a meeting Sunday as a prerequisite to the withdrawal, which was originally slated for Thursday.

"Barak hasn't decided which lands should be included in the withdrawal," Gadi Baltiansky said. "Barak wants to check a few more subjects and continue the internal discussions."

The decision meant the withdrawal will most likely be postponed for at least two weeks, since Barak will travel to the United States for the next round of peace talks with the Syrians, which are slated to begin Wednesday.

The Palestinians have accused Israel of neglecting the peace talks with them in favour of the Syrian negotiations, which reopened in December.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Cabinet warned in a meeting Friday that Israeli sluggishness in the negotiations will prevent the sides from working out a framework on a final peace agreement by a February 13 deadline.

The Palestinians had demanded that the next withdrawal include areas near east Jerusalem - the sector they hope to make the capital of a future state - as part of the redeployment that is supposed to include 6.1 per cent of the West Bank.

Israel insists that any changes in control over the territory near the disputed city would be decided in the final phase of peace talks between the sides. Israel says that the peace accords designate it as the sole deciding authority on which land is included in withdrawals.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967, declaring the sector part of its capital. Barak insists the city will not be divided again as part of the negotiation with the Palestinians.

Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh implied Friday that the Palestinians may be given some authority in areas east of Jerusalem when he said the boundaries of the city may be extended as part of a final agreement.

"I think that the issue of Jerusalem has to be solved not by dividing Jerusalem, but by its expansion," Sneh told Israel radio.

The expansion of Jerusalem would allow the Palestinians to say they control parts of the city without actually granting them powers in the current city limits.