Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said today that Israel would not delay its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip beyond its new mid-August start date, disputing settler hopes that the pull-out can be indefinitely postponed.

A Jewish settler leader in the Gaza Strip said today that settlers would comply with a Defence Ministry order to return army-issue weapons to the military, defusing a potentially serious problem ahead of this summer’s planned Israeli evacuation of the volatile territory.

PALESTINIAN Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia yesterday promised a drastic overhaul of his cabinet, signalling the start of long-sought reform, after his original lineup of political old-timers prompted an angry outcry and threats of a no-confidence vote.

The Israeli police plans to assign 18,000 officers, or nearly all of its field force, to the planned pullout from the Gaza Strip this summer.