Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., June 22, 2008 Sivan 19, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:57 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

IDF to scale back troop numbers around Gaza in next stage of cease-fire By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay Military sources said yesterday that if the one-day-old Gaza cease-fire holds, the army will redeploy some of its troops near the Strip to other sectors or for training. At the moment, the troops are on high alert. No unusual incidents took place yesterday after the agreement took effect at 6 A.M. Advertisement The Israeli military believes that Hamas is enforcing its will on the smaller Palestinian factions and preventing - at least for now - rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. At 5 A.M., an hour before the cease-fire went into force, the Israel Defense Forces killed a Hamas militant in central Gaza. Negotiations for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit are scheduled to resume next week in the Egyptian-brokered deal. Politicians and high-ranking army officers are due in the next few days to discuss approving a prisoner swap with Hezbollah for abductees Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. An acceleration of these discussions could indicate that the deal will be made next week. Despite concerns expressed yesterday by the Goldwasser and Regev families, it appears that a solid cabinet majority favors the deal. (See story, Page 3.) Today or tomorrow, the IDF Southern Command will be given new rules of engagement for troops stationed around the Gaza Strip. The rules for opening fire will apparently be similar to those during previous periods of calm. Soldiers will be allowed to shoot in self-defense but will be asked to show restraint and not cross the border fence on their own initiative. Negotiations for Shalit's release are scheduled to resume Tuesday. Israel's coordinator for the kidnapped soldiers, Ofer Dekel, is scheduled to travel to Egypt, which will represent Hamas' Gaza leadership. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is also expected to bring up the Shalit case in a meeting in Cairo next week with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Olmert military aide Meir Kalifi yesterday called Gilad's father Noam Shalit, who had been interviewed in the media and wrote a letter to Olmert asking that the siege on Gaza not be lifted without progress in talks for Gilad's release. Kalifi tried to convince the elder Shalit that the cease-fire agreement includes progress toward Gilad's release. Senior military officers said that the calm could serve the Shalit talks because an improved atmosphere could spur Egypt to increase its involvement in the hopes of closing a deal. Olmert told the BBC's Arabic service yesterday that he expects Shalit to be released soon. Hamas did not respond after a militant was killed early yesterday morning near the El Bureij refugee camp. After the cease-fire took effect, an Israel Navy ship fired a few shells toward Palestinian fishing boats south of Gaza. The fishing vessels were approaching a "closed security zone." The boats returned to Gaza territorial waters and the IDF said there were no injuries and the fire was not directed at the fishermen. With the exception of that incident, to which the Palestinians did not respond, there was no firing in the southern sector for the first time in months. Also yesterday, Hamas expressed satisfaction that fuel was transferred into Gaza from Israel. According to Palestinian sources, more cargo is scheduled to enter Gaza Sunday at the Karni and Sufa crossings, an amount scheduled to increase again a week later. Hamas officials said the organization does not plan to deploy forces to prevent rocket fire into Israel. But they said each faction has agreed to end smuggling into Gaza and avoid firing rockets. Yesterday morning, a few dozen Hamas members were photographed returning home from manning posts close to the border with Israel. However, Hamas members will remain deployed on the border for the next few days. In a discussion of border-crossing policy at Tel Aviv military headquarters, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said that if the calm is maintained, the number of trucks allowed into Gaza will increase daily. Next Sunday, 10 days into the cease-fire if it holds, luxury goods such as candy, clothes and shoes will be allowed in Gaza. The Defense Ministry is also considering bringing cargo trucks in Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing due to the overload at the Sufa crossing. The Erez crossing has also been renovated in recent days after it was seriously damaged by a car bomb. Palestinians will be allowed to cross into Israel at Erez early next week, mostly to receive medical treatment. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Purchase price More consumers are letting their consciences do the shopping. Fighting fear N.Y. mayor urges Jewish voters to denounce Obama Muslim rumors.

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