Israeli troops begin to pull out of West Bank town

JERUSALEM -- Israeli tanks and troops began pulling back from the West Bank town of Ramallah early today, the Israeli military and Palestinians said, continuing a staged withdrawal from six towns Israel took over after militants assassinated an Israeli Cabinet minister.

Two Israeli tanks and an armored personnel carrier rolled away from the northern entrance of the town toward the Israeli settlement of Beit El, as Palestinian security forces moved in, witnesses said.

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said in a statement that his forces would leave Ramallah but would continue with their cordon around the town, just outside Palestinian-controlled territory. He said Israel would hold Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority responsible for security, preventing attacks by militants against Israelis.

With the withdrawal from Ramallah, the seat of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Israel still controls of parts of two other towns -- Jenin and Tulkarem.

The Israeli army moved into the six towns after Palestinian militants assassinated Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi on Oct. 17.

Palestinians said the Israeli withdrawals were unconditional. The United States has made repeated demands of Israel to withdraw from the towns and refrain from sending its forces into Palestinian areas.

Mission accomplished

On Monday, Israeli officials said the incursions had accomplished their mission. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israeli forces had killed 42 armed militants in clashes and 15 others in targeted operations. Also, he said, 85 suspected militants were arrested.

Palestinians charge that the targeted operations are assassinations, sometimes of political leaders.

On Oct. 28, Israeli forces pulled out of Bethlehem and neighboring Beit Jalla. Early Monday, they left the town of Qalqilya, a West Bank town next to Israel.

Sharon said he postponed a trip to Britain and the United States, set for this week, to oversee the completion of the pullbacks.

In violence Tuesday, Palestinian militants fired on an Israeli army patrol south of the West Bank town of Nablus. Three Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in a 40-minute firefight, villagers and the army said, but they differed over the circumstances.

The army said all three Palestinians were killed during the exchange of fire. Palestinian authorities accused the Israeli soldiers of executing wounded Palestinians after emergency crews arrived to treat them, and they demanded an international inquiry.

All three had bullets in their heads, said the director of Rafidia hospital, Dr. Hussam el Jouhary.