Israel to ease some restrictions
2008-03-30 22:52
Jerusalem - Israel announced plans on
Sunday to ease some restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied
West Bank, responding to calls by visiting US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to take steps to bolster peace talks.
After a meeting in Jerusalem between Rice, Israeli Defence
Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad,
Israel said it would remove about 50 "dirt roadblocks" and open
a "permanent checkpoint" that obstructs the flow of travellers
to the town of Jericho.
"I think it's a very good start," said Rice, who shuttled
between Israel and Jordan to assess the state of US-backed
peace talks before President George W Bush returns to the
region in May.
Israel has pledged in the past to remove West Bank barriers
but failed to do so, Western and Palestinian officials said.
"It is important to translate talk about easement measures
to a reality on the ground which will enable us to achieve an
easing of the suffering of our people and enable the Palestinian
Authority to carry out its duties in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip," Fayyad's office said in a statement.
Internal divisions
Citing security concerns, Israel has balked at Palestinian
demands to dismantle major checkpoints.
Also hampering the talks are internal divisions among the
Palestinians. Abbas's Fatah movement holds sway in the West Bank
while Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip last year.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri criticized the three-way
meeting as an attempt to give a "false impression of success" in
the peace talks and said Rice's visit was aimed at preventing
any Palestinian reconciliation.
"I really do think that what we have to do is to have
meaningful progress towards a better life for the Palestinian
people," Rice told reporters.