TEL AVIV (voa) – Israeli forces remain poised near the Gaza Strip, but Israeli media reports say the expected Gaza operation has been postponed.
Israeli Channel 2 television reports Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer decided to postpone the operation because of leaks about army plans that deprived it of the element of surprise. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres had said the operation would only target “centers of terror” and would not be aimed at conquering Gaza.
Residents of Gaza are still stocking up on food in anticipation of an Israeli military incursion in response to the Palestinian suicide bombing on Tuesday that killed 15 Israelis in a Tel Aviv suburb.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops have finished pulling out of Bethlehem. Early Friday, the five-week standoff at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity ended with the exile of 13 militants wanted by Israel for terrorism. Everyone else besieged in the church by Israeli forces has been set free.
The 13 Palestinians wanted by Israel were flown to Cyprus, where they will be divided up and sent to several European countries. Twenty-six other wanted Palestinians were sent to the Gaza Strip and more than 80 civilians who were trapped in the church went free.
President Bush says the end to the Bethlehem standoff should advance chances for a political settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In other developments, Palestinian security forces have arrested about 20 members of the Islamic militant group Hamas since Tuesday’s deadly suicide attack. Hamas claimed responsibility for the blast and is headquartered in Gaza.
