Israel Will Start Pullout in Gaza and Bethlehem
Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed late today that Israeli troops would start a trial withdrawal from reoccupied territory in the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem, in the West Bank, on the condition that the Palestinians take responsibility for reducing tensions in those places.

Though details were not immediately known, the Israeli Defense Ministry said the withdrawal would begin on Monday.

The agreement, reached at a four-hour meeting in Tel Aviv between the Israeli defense minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, and the Palestinian Authority interior minister, Abdel Razak Yehiyeh, was the first effort at a cease-fire in the current conflict that was negotiated directly between Israel and the Palestinians. Since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising 22 months ago, more than 2,000 people have died, and several earlier attempts by the United States to mediate a cease-fire have failed.

The agreement was in effect a pilot plan for further moves toward a full cease-fire. "The steps are essential as a starting point for the future political and security process," Mr. Ben-Eliezer said in a statement. He told Israeli Army radio, "The talks are aimed at getting a cease-fire and reducing tension."

For the first time in several months, news photographers were allowed to photograph the negotiators before the meeting, indicating that both sides wanted to publicize the fact that they were working together again. The chief of the Shin Bet intelligence service, the Israeli military chief of planning and policy, and the increasingly visible security adviser to Yasir Arafat, Muhammad Dahlan, were also present.

A statement issued by the Defense Ministry said, "Both sides agree to start implementing the initiative tomorrow in Gaza and Bethlehem." It added that the withdrawal was contingent on the Palestinians taking "responsibility to calm the security situation and reduce violence."

"The Defense Ministry agreed that Israel, for its part, would do everything in order to ease conditions on the Palestinian population, especially for civilians, and in the humanitarian area at this time," the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinians.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/19/international/middleeast/19MIDE.html