Palestinian security officers – Will they be assigned responsibility over more towns?
צילום: איי פי
Israeli, Palestinian officials to meet
Among those in attendance, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and PA Interior minister Nasser Yousef; besides discussing disengagement, officials will talk about Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian cities in West Bank
TEL AVIV - Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and others in the security establishment will begin Tuesday a series of meetings with their Palestinian Authority counterparts.
The meetings will cover the topics of disengagement and transfer of West Bank cities to the Palestinians.
The main meeting will take place between Mofaz and PA Interior Minister Nasser Yousef. The two will discuss the transfer of West Bank cities, in particular Bethlehem and Qalqiliya.
A recent meeting between the two over the transfer over authority in Bethlehem ended on an inconclusive note, but PA sources said that they hoped progress would be made in forthcoming negotiation.
At the same time, IDF Gaza forces commander Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi will meet with his Palestinian counterpart Suleiman Khilas.
The PA Minister of Civilian Affairs Mohammed Dahlan said on Monday that the purpose of the meeting was for the Palestinians to demonstrate their ability to govern themselves.
The Palestinians hope that cooperation and an orderly takeover will be a model for future Israeli withdrawals.
