Israel finalised preparations yesterday for the first phase of West Bank withdrawals required by the Wye River peace accord, though Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has delayed giving the green light for the pullback until the last minute. Israel is due to transfer full or partial control over zones situated near the already autonomous towns of Jenin and Nablus to the Palestinians this weekend, according to military officials. But Netanyahu has said the transfers will only be ordered if his cabinet agrees, during a meeting scheduled for today, that the Palestinians have met their obligations under the Wye River agreement. During implementation of this stage of the accord, scheduled in three stages over 12 weeks, the Palestinians will be required to issue a decree outlawing anti-Israeli incitement and another allowing for the confiscation of illegal weapons. Israel is also demanding proof that the Palestinians have arrested ten out of 30 men accused of anti-Israeli violence and who must be jailed during the 12-week period. "If these conditions are met the army can redeploy on Thursday or Friday," said David Bar-Illan, Netanyahu's spokesman. Palestinian officials said they would meet all their commitments by the end of the week, as required under the accord. "We have no problem with fulfilling our commitments," said Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. However, Palestinian sources said the incitement and weapons confiscation decrees had to be approved by Arafat's cabinet, which meets on Friday. Israeli officials said the land transfer, involving a handshake and exchange of maps between Israeli and Palestinian security officials, would take only a couple of hours. The only change on the ground would be the posting of some 500 road signs showing the new borders of areas under full or partial Palestinian control. "The redeployment involves no logistical problems because the territories to be turned over are empty," Bar-Illan said. Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon was expected to present the maps showing which areas would be transferred in the first phase to Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat's deputy, at a meeting yesterday afternoon. The pullback will involve Palestinian civil administration extending to two per cent of West Bank territory now under Israel's exclusive rule. At the same time, Israel will withdraw its forces from seven per cent of the territory now under shared rule. Following the transfer the Palestinian Authority will have full control over 10 per cent of the West Bank and civil authority in a further 19 per cent over which Israel will retain security control. The withdrawal should have taken place on Monday under the terms of the Wye Accord signed last month in Washington. Netanyahu, though, delayed the pullback pending ratification both by his cabinet, which occurred last week after several delays, and by parliament, which overwhelmingly endorsed the agreement late Tuesday. In addition to the land transfers Israel is required to free 250 Palestinian prisoners by the end of the week, out of the 750 whose release is stipulated in the accord. Negotiations on the prisoners' release hit a snag this week when Israel said it intended to include 100 common criminals in the deal while the Palestinians insist the Wye Accord requires the release of prisoners held for political actions. Israel must also authorise the opening of an airport in Gaza and a safe passage linking the West Bank and Gaza Strip by the end of the week. Meanwhile, Israel has begun constructing 12 roads for Jewish settlers so that they will not have to drive through land due to fall under Palestinian control. The army is also increasing security around 18 settlements located in zones where land will be transferred to the Palestinians. For their part, Jewish settlers have pursued a campaign of occupying hilltops outside existing settlements in an attempt to prevent the land from falling into Palestinian hands. The 120-member Knesset approved the accord by 75 to 19 votes with nine abstentions. Most of the "no" votes came from Netanyahu's own coalition, with five members of his cabinet voting against the accord.
