West Bank town to be transferred to Palestinian control Wednesday, following meeting between Defense Minister Mofaz and Palestinian Interior Minister Yusuf; two more cities to be handed over in coming weeks
HERZLIYA - An agreement on the handover of Jericho to the Palestinians has been reached Monday in a meeting between Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Interior Minister Nasser Yusuf.
The West Bank town is expected to be transferred to Palestinian control Wednesday.
The two officials met for over two hours after earlier talks on the matter between military officials failed to finalize an agreement.
Mofaz and Yusuf also agreed on the transfer of two more West Bank cities to the Palestinians in the coming weeks. Tul Karm is slated to be handed over next week, followed by Qalqiliya.
Earlier Meetings
Jericho handover on hold / By Efrat Weiss and Ali Waked
Two meetings between Israeli and Palestinian security officials fail to resolve impasse. IDF says Palestinians demanded Israel dismantle checkpoints around the city
During Monday’s session, Mofaz refused to budge on Israeli security demands. As a result, Highway 90 and a contentious Jericho roadblock would remain under Israeli control
Popular Front terrorists to remain in jail
Meanwhile, Yusuf has pledged to disarm 20 wanted terror suspects who reside in Jericho. The two officials also agreed to meet again in about a month, so that Israel can consider additional Palestinian requests.
The possible release of Popular Front terrorists jailed in Jericho was also discussed in the meeting, but Mofaz refused to commit to their release at this time.
The handover of Jericho is expected to mark the beginning of a particularly sensitive “test period,” where security officials closely examine actions undertaken by Palestinian security authorities.
The Palestinians have often argued they would not be able to disarm terrorists because Israel maintained security responsibility over Palestinian areas. However, with the handover of Jericho, Israel will hold the Palestinians fully responsible for any incidents in the town.
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