Israel scaling back army presence in West Bank

[June 25, 2009]  JERUSALEM (AP) -- Defense officials say the Israel military is pulling forces out of four major West Bank towns.

The plan is to have U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces assume greater responsibilities.

The officials say the military won't enter Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Jericho and Ramallah except to prevent attacks against Israelis.

They spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.

Israel had pulled out of those cities in the 1990s but re-entered them after the Palestinian uprising against Israel reignited in late 2000.

Palestinians have long sought an Israeli pullback from those towns.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel marked the third anniversary Thursday of the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, with no new information on the plight of the young man and few signs of progress in efforts to bring him home.

Sgt. Gilad Schalit, 22, was nabbed on June 25, 2006, in a daring cross-border raid from Gaza that killed two other soldiers.

He has not been seen since then and the Red Cross has not been allowed to visit him, though Gaza's Hamas rulers have released two recorded statements from him and exchanged letters between him and his family. Former President Jimmy Carter delivered a letter from Schalit's parents to Hamas officials last week.

Egyptian-mediated attempts to arrange a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas have been unsuccessful. A Hamas spokesman, Osama Almuzeini, said Thursday that there were no new developments in the negotiations.

He refused to confirm whether Schalit was alive or dead, saying Hamas would not give any "information for free." Hamas has demanded the release of hundreds of prisoners, including people convicted in deadly attacks on Israelis, in exchange for Schalit.

The soldier's father, Noam Schalit, pleaded with all Israelis to close their eyes for three minutes on Thursday to try to imagine the agony his son was enduring each day in captivity.

"We have not given up on anything, we keep moving forward, we will never give up," he told Israel's Army Radio. "We are acting in a determined way and are only looking at one goal -- to get to the day when Gilad will come home."

The family planned a large rally later Thursday in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv to urge the government to pursue Schalit's release more aggressively.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said such demonstrations have hurt Israel's negotiating position by making the government look weak. But in a country where military service is mandatory, Israelis have strongly backed the family and its demands by taking part in rallies, protests and petitions for his behalf.

Olmert's successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently appointed a new negotiator to pursue Schalit's release and, in a major speech last week, vowed to bring the soldier home to his parents.

Israel has cited Schalit's captivity as a reason for its continued economic blockade of the coastal strip. Evening newscasts often end with anchors counting the number of days he has been in captivity. The covers of all Thursday's newspapers were filled with images of Schalit and letters from his loved ones.

"I turn to you, my dear nation. Please help us get the current government to do all that is needed and bring Gilad home," his mother, Aviva, wrote in the mass-circulation Yediot Ahronot.

The Haaretz daily, citing Egyptian mediators, reported that Schalit was in good health but that there was concern for his psychological well-being.

Israel's volatile border with Gaza has remained generally quiet since a three-week Israeli military offensive in January, but there have been occasional flare-ups in violence.

The Israeli military said Gaza militants opened fire across the border at Israeli soldiers Thursday. No injuries were reported, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

[Associated Press; By ARON HELLER]

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