RAMALLAH (voa) – Israeli troops and tanks are pulling out of Ramallah Friday, three days after moving into the Palestinian-ruled city in the West Bank.
The withdrawal began late Thursday, and was expected to take several hours. Israeli officials say the tanks and troops will remain just outside the city where Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been confined by Israeli forces since early December.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the pull-out as a new peace effort by U.S. Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni was getting under way. He arrived in the region Thursday, and met with Mr. Sharon late in the day.
The U.S. State Department says such a withdrawal will help General Zinni’s efforts to stop the fighting. A State Department spokesman (Richard Boucher) told reporters that Washington expects a complete Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian-controlled areas, including Ramallah and other areas Israeli forces recently entered.
Before Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Sharon said his main effort now is to achieve a cease-fire.
General Zinni, in his third such visit to the region, is expected to visit Mr. Arafat late Friday, or on Saturday. Palestinian officials have said they will not hold talks of any kind with Israel until it pulls troops out of recently occupied Palestinian cities.
Meanwhile, the deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence continued Thursday in Ramallah and elsewhere, leaving at least nine Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers dead.
Among those killed were two Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. They were shot dead by masked Palestinian gunmen. Three Israeli soldiers died when their tank was blown up by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
