 Palestinians prepared to assume security control from Israel in four West Bank cities as their leader Mahmud Abbas saw an historic chance for peace, although a lull in violence was broken. The fatal shooting of a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl and retaliatory shelling by Hamas of Jewish settlements in southern Gaza cast a shadow over the burgeoning hopes for a breakthrough in the four-year-old conflict. | The little girl was probably killed by Palestinian reveleres returning from Hajj (and shooting their rifles into the air.) |
A senior Palestinian official said the transfer could take place as early as Tuesday if talks with Israel later Monday progressed smoothly. "If we reach agreement tonight (Monday) with the Israeli defence minister (Shaul Mofaz), we expect that the army will withdraw from the four cities tomorrow," said the official, who has been closely involved in the talks with Israeli counterparts. The transfer would take place in Ramallah, Jericho, Tulkarem and Qalqilya, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Mofaz was due to meet former Palestinian security minister Mohammed Dahlan later on Monday to finalise the transfer agreement after holding a similar meeting on Saturday. The two were also expected to discuss Palestinian demands for the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Militant groups such as Hamas, which is meant to be observing a temporary albeit unofficial truce, have indicated they will declare a temporary formal ceasefire if Israel ends its military operations in the Gaza Strip and releases prisoners. The bloodshed has not ceased completely however, with a 10-year-old girl killed on Monday at a United Nations-run school in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Medical sources said that Nuran Deab died instantly after being shot in the head at the school by Israeli soldiers manning a observation post on the nearby border into Egypt. The armed wing of Hamas said it had responded by firing a total of seven mortars against the settlement of Neve Dekalim and also targeted the nearby Atzmona settlement. An Israeli military spokeswoman reported that six mortar shells had been fired in southern Gaza but without causing injuries. |