Israel could co-ordinate plans to quit Gaza Strip

ISRAEL yesterday offered its first indication it was reassessing relations with the Palestinians after Yasser Arafat’s death.

Israel suggested it might co-ordinate a planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian Authority cracks down on militant groups.

Palestinian leaders reacted cautiously to the remarks by foreign minister Silvan Shalom and argued that Israel should “unconditionally” reopen peace talks.

Prime minister Ariel Sharon had previously refused to negotiate the “unilateral disengagement plan” with Arafat, insisting that he was responsible for four years of fighting.

Mr Arafat’s death in a French hospital last week has opened up what many leaders believe is a crucial opportunity to revive the Middle East peace process.

If leaders emerge who are willing to stem the violence, Israel is prepared to coordinate the plan to move troops and 8,800 Jewish settlers out of the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements, Israeli officials said yesterday. Such co-ordination is considered critical to avoid a chaotic transition.

“Israel has every interest that Gaza will be ruled in a responsible manner when redeployment takes place,” Mr Shalom told a conference of North American Jews in Cleveland.

“If the new leadership on the Palestinian side acts to combat terror, then we will be able to consider coordinating aspects of the ‘day after’ with them.”

Israel’s security establishment is currently examining ways to work with Palestinian security forces to hand them control of the Gaza Strip when Israel withdraws, senior Israeli officials said yesterday.

Israeli and Palestinian officials alike have expressed fears that an evacuation from Gaza that is not coordinated would bring chaos to the area, where militant groups have been vying for control in recent months.