Tulkarm was handed over to Palestinian Authority security
control on Monday night, after Jericho was given to them less
than a week earlier.
The transfer of Kalkilya, the next city in line for transfer
to PA security control, will be only implemented after the
situation has been carefully evaluated and PA takes action on
the ground to quell terror, security sources said. However on
Tuesday the head of IDF Military Intelligence said that the
Palestinian Authority security forces are foiling as many
terror attacks as Israel, and the expectation was that talks
would begin on the transfer of Kalkilya within a few days.
There was no ceremony, but the army simply removed a
checkpoint close to Tulkarm, as PA security forces took up
their new responsibilities in the city. Two IDF checkpoints
at the city's entrances will remain.
Israel will retain security control of several villages north
of the city, considered to be terror hotbeds. However, both
sides agreed to meet again in a month to evaluate the
situation and to decide whether to transfer control of the
villages to the PA. The IDF agreed to avoid entering the
town.
Negotiations were rocky. On Sunday, a decision was made to
reconvene on Monday afternoon. At that time a dispute erupted
when both sides refused to sign protocols stipulating the
understandings. Shortly after, they decided not to sign any
protocol, and just to hand the city over.
After the agreement was announced, Palestinians celebrated in
Tulkarm, with masked gunmen firing in the air. PA police
watched without taking action.
Domestic News
The Knesset began the process of approving the budget for
2005 as a deal was reached within the Likud to allow things
to move ahead. The Likud Knesset faction voted to enforce
coalition discipline to pass the budget in the Finance
Committee on Tuesday and in favor of a national referendum on
disengagement in the Law Committee on Wednesday.
At the conclusion of a stormy Likud meeting that stretched
more than six hours, coalition chairman Gidon Saar passed
the proposal against Sharon's will by a vote of 16 to 11,
with three abstentions. Sharon opposed the proposal because
of his fierce opposition to a referendum, but both his
associates and the Likud rebels claimed victory at the end of
the day.
The budget will thus pass the committee and be presented to
the Knesset plenum next week. It must pass by the end of
March or else there will be automatic elections within three
months. Opponents of Sharon's disengagement plan refuse to
support the budget, saying that they hope that the government
will fall and force new elections, thus halting or at least
postponing carrying out the disengagement. Many observers
wonder if they will change their minds at the last minute
since if new elections were held, many of them would probably
not make it into the new Knesset.
The other tactic favored by opponents of the disengagement is
to force a referendum on the issue. Sharon is adamantly
opposed to a referendum, saying that the government was
elected democratically and there is no need for a referendum.
Many observers have feared that referendums could be used to
bypass the Knesset and force through all kinds of laws that
are not tempered by the normal political processes. Religious
politicians fear that a referendum could approve anti-
religious proposals that muster a majority.
In a related matter, residents of the Gush Katif settlements
in Gaza have given the security services the names of several
extremists whom they believe might use violence during the
evacuation this July and asked the services to remove these
people from their settlements. The residents explained that
this was done in part in the hopes of keeping the door open
for more moderate supporters to come to Gush Katif.
