Israelis Pull Out of Jenin Before US Envoy's Visit

Israeli forces pulled back from the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon choked off criticism in his right-wing government of a U.S.-led ``roadmap'' to peace.

The army withdrew from the center of Jenin after its soldiers killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant blamed by Israel for 31 Israeli deaths, and ahead of the arrival in the region on Monday of a U.S. diplomat on a mission to promote the peace proposal.

Israel armor took up new positions in Jenin's outskirts two weeks after rumbling into the city with hundreds of infantry troops to mount house-to-house searches for militants.

Palestinian children attended school for the first time in two weeks in Jenin as a curfew was lifted.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html