Gaza Strip takes significant steps towards peace

ISRAELI and Palestinian commanders shook hands yesterday, bulldozers dismantled checkpoints and Palestinian traffic flowed freely in the Gaza Strip — significant steps toward ending 33 months of bloody fighting.

However, a Palestinian shooting killed a Bulgarian truck driver in the West Bank and gunmen opened fire on workers near the border with Israel, suggesting some armed bands had not been brought into line with the day-old ceasefire called by militant groups.

But after Israel implemented a troop pullout from northern Gaza and agreed to pull out of Bethlehem on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon shrugged off calls to react to the shootings and called for patience.