Israel Plans to Begin Withdrawal from Beit Hanoun Settlement

Israel plans to begin its withdrawal from the Beit Hanoun settlement - 2003-06-29. Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have announced an immediate three-month halt in attacks against Israel. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quotes a spokesperson for Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, stating that this group will also join the temporary ceasefire later today. Initial reactions from Israeli officials have been marked by skepticism and doubt. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated just hours after the announcement of the temporary ceasefire on CNN that Israel still faces dozens of terrorist threats and has not seen any reduction in these matters. However, he expressed hope that the ceasefire would be implemented. Despite such remarks, Israel intends to start its withdrawal from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza tomorrow. The conditions for this withdrawal were established in negotiations yesterday between Palestinian officials and the Israeli coordinator for the occupied territories. A Palestinian statement says the ceasefire is conditional on a complete cessation of aggressive attacks by Israel, including military incursions into the occupied territories. This statement also calls for the lifting of the siege on the residence and offices of Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. These developments followed two days of active diplomacy by Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. National Security Advisor, who visited the region. President Bush sent Ms. Rice to the area last week to pressure both sides to accept an internationally supported peace plan aimed at ending three years of deadly violence between Israel and the Palestinians.