MIDDLE EAST: Yet another ceasefire agreement in the Middle East appeared to be close to unravelling yesterday, with Israel essentially freezing a security deal aimed at gradually easing its stranglehold on the West Bank and Gaza, because of what it said was a failure by the Palestinians to clamp down on terror.
In the West Bank town of Tul Karm, meanwhile, Ikhlas Khouli, a 35-year-old widow and mother of seven, became the first Palestinian woman to be gunned down by militants for allegedly collaborating with Israel.
Khouli, who was kidnapped on Friday, was shot dead and dumped in a street in the town the next day by militants.
They claimed she had given Israel information that led to the killing of one of their comrades.
While denying the security agreement had been consigned to cold storage, Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, clearly indicated the plan was being delayed, especially talk of a possible withdrawal from the West Bank city of Hebron.
"First of all, we must deepen the effort in Gaza and Bethlehem [to halt violence]," he said.
"It is pointless to move forward. . . unless there is quiet and the warnings [of further attacks] have stopped."
Palestinian officials attacked the decision, saying Israel had made every effort to undermine the arrangement, which stipulates that Israeli soldiers will withdraw from areas they have reoccupied and Palestinian security forces will replace them.
"[Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon reacted to this deal with more killing and more assassinations in Gaza and the West Bank," said Mr Mohammed Dahlan, the national security adviser to Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat.
Despite the accusations, the Palestinian Authority appeared to be failing in its efforts to persuade militant groups to lay down their arms.
A call by Interior Minister, Mr Abdel Razeq Yehiyeh, for the militias to abandon armed struggle against Israel was met with a counter-demand by the joint leadership of the intifada, which yesterday insisted the Palestinian Authority cease all security talks with Israel over the "Gaza and Bethlehem First" plan, as the security arrangement is known.
Last week, the Israeli army pulled out of Bethlehem.
However, the government has refused to order a withdrawal from Gaza where violent clashes have continued.