Olmert's West Bank Pullout Plan on Hold
18 August 2006
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is postponing plans for a unilateral Israeli pullout from much of the occupied West Bank.
Top aides say the pullout plan is no longer Mr. Olmert's top priority because of pressing concerns after the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The aides say Mr. Olmert wants to focus on northern Israel's recovery from Hezbollah rocket attacks. Israel is also continuing an offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
The aides stressed though that pullout plans have not been abandoned.
In other news, two Palestinian gunmen were killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank and Gaza early Friday. Later, Israel fired at Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, killing one and injuring a second.
Also, media reports say Palestinian political factions have abandoned talks on a proposed national unity government. The reports say the ruling Palestinian group Hamas insisted on keeping the post of prime minister, a demand rejected by the more moderate Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
On Thursday, Mr. Abbas said Palestinian militant groups had agreed to suspend attacks on Israel.
In January, the Islamic militant group Hamas won an overwhelming majority of seats in the Palestinian parliament. Mr. Abbas wants to negotiate with Israel for an independent Palestinian state.
But Israel has called Mr. Abbas irrelevant and refuses to speak with Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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