NABLUS, West Bank, 1 June — Israeli troops reoccupied most of the West Bank town of Nablus and a nearby refugee camp early yesterday, even as senior US and European officials launched major diplomatic peace efforts. The Israeli Army staged a large-scale predawn incursion into Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp, where exchanges of fire were reported, security sources on both sides said.
Palestinian witnesses said the incursion involved infantry units, backed by around 50 tanks, armored vehicles and personnel carriers under cover of helicopter gunships. Israeli forces were controlling most of the northern West Bank town last evening, according to Palestinian witnesses. An Israeli military spokesman said “a curfew has been imposed in Nablus where the army had taken up position in various places.”
During the military operation, one of the largest since Israeli troops ended the first stage of the West Bank sweep they launched on March 29, the Nablus leader of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah group was arrested, Palestinian security sources said. Issam Abubakr, was arrested in his parents’ house in Nablus, the sources said, adding another five activists were arrested. The army also said hundreds of men had been detained for questioning.
The latest raids come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to end the 20 months of fighting which have left more than 2,000 people on both sides dead since the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000. The hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s top aide yesterday morning and demanded “an end to terrorism” before starting talks with the Palestinians.
Egypt has reportedly drafted the blueprints for a major revamp of the Palestinian Authority, a key demand of Israel and the United States for a resumption of peace talks. Sharon also met later with US Middle East envoy William Burns and made a similar demand for an end to violence for peace talks to proceed.
The diplomatic efforts will be further bolstered yesterday by the departure of CIA Director George Tenet for the Middle East. He visited Israel a year ago to work out a cease-fire plan that never took hold. Tenet arrives in Israel on Monday for security talks with both sides, US officials said.
Meanwhile in Beirut, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said a proposed international conference should be held before the end of July to revive the Middle East peace process. “The time has come to launch an initiative of a political nature, in the form of an international conference or meeting,” Solana told reporters after a meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.
