Israel Prepares to Control 5 Major Palestinian Cities - 2002-06-24

Israel is preparing to take control of 5 major Palestinian cities in the West Bank and has called up about 2,000 reserve soldiers. Israeli forces, supported by tanks, entered the city of Qalqilya on Sunday, having previously occupied the cities of Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Tulkarm. Last week, the Israeli security cabinet decided to reoccupy major Palestinian cities, and this occupation will continue, according to officials, until attacks against Israel cease. Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer stated that the army will not assume administrative responsibility for the occupied cities, allowing international humanitarian organizations and Palestinian civil institutions to continue their work. Ben-Eliezer mentioned he does not wish to keep the army in the occupied territories for more than six months, and that soldiers are not there to punish all Palestinians but are only searching for those involved in terrorism. On Sunday, the Israeli government took the first step in constructing a security wall in the West Bank. The cabinet also indicated plans to transfer the families of suicide bombers from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, pending legal advice on whether to implement this plan. In Washington, a senior advisor to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged President Bush to set a deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the borders of 1967. Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian official, stated that the U.S. is the only power that can resolve the Middle East conflict.