Palestinians move to disarm militants

Palestinian and Israeli security officers shake hands after the opening of Anabta checkpoint near the West Bank town of Tulkarem yesterday as part of a broader transfer of security control to Palestinian forces. PHOTO: AFP

According to senior Palestinian security officials, the Interior Ministry distributed letters outlining weapons restrictions to militants in the West Bank. The AP obtained a copy of the letter Monday.

Militants said they would not comply until Israel completes a promised withdrawal from West Bank towns.

The move was seen as a concession to the United States and Israel, who have long demanded the Palestinians crack down on militant groups. Palestinians leader Mahmoud Abbas has preferred to use persuasion to get the gunmen to lay down their arms.

Israel welcomed the move. After four years of bloodshed, Israel has made disarming of militants and dismantling violent groups like Hamas a precondition for progress along the US-backed "road map" peace plan toward a Palestinian state.

The directive limits militants to a single weapon and bars them from loading the weapons or carrying them in public. It also obligates militants to license the weapons with the ministry and forbids them to change the serial numbers on the guns.

Many militants possess more than one weapon, and gunmen have become folk heroes by brandishing their arms openly on the streets and firing in the air at marches and funerals.

The Palestinian Interior Ministry has asked militants to sign the letter and commit to the process.

Leaders of the al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades confirmed they had received the document and said they were considering the offer.

However, Kamel Ghannam, an al Aqsa leader in Ramallah, said militants would not sign the pledge until Israel carries out a planned military withdrawal from five West Bank cities.

Meanwhile, Palestinian police were deployed in the town of Tulkarm for the first time in more than four years on Monday after Israel gave Palestinians security control of a second West Bank city.

The handover of Tulkarm, days after Palestinians regained Jericho, was seen as a gesture by Israel after Palestinian President Mahoud Abbas won a deal with militants last week to extend a de facto truce.