(16 Jan 1997) Arabic/Eng/Nat
Israel's divided Cabinet has approved an agreement on an Israeli troop pullout from the West Bank town of Hebron.
The cabinet voted to approve the deal by 11 to seven.
The decision came after a tumultuous 12-hour session in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was relentlessly attacked by hardliners in his cabinet.
It is not yet clear when the Israeli troops will begin their withdrawal.
The Israeli Cabinet late Wednesday approved an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron, as the town held its breath in anticipation of the decision.
The atmosphere remained tense all day as it was clear Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was facing stiff opposition from within his cabinet.
The Palestinian cabinet had approved the deal earlier in the evening.
Ending months of wrangling, Netanyahu and palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shook hands early Wednesday after reaching the agreement designed to jolt the peace process back to life.
The accord is the first concrete step in the stalled process since Netanyahu's government took office in June, pledging to slow the handover of land to Palestinians.
Preparations for Israel's withdrawal from 80 percent of Hebron began almost immediately.
Israel radio said it would be completed in about 48 hours.
Speed was considered important to limit the ability of militants on both sides to create trouble.
In Jerusalem, Netanyahu's political adviser, Dore Gold, explained the significance of the deal.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
\"And for the first time in the Oslo process, we have made a fundamental readjustment. We've put on not just a layer of security, but the principle of reciprocity. If you have an agreement in which one party is supposed to be automatically turning over territorial assets, while the other party has some general commitments, you will get into a situation when one side is giving out all the time, the other side is not doing its end, and that can lead to a breakdown of agreements ultimately. By re-establishing the principle of reciprocity, actually for the first time putting it into these agreements, I think we have a good chance of making the Oslo process work after it was highly flawed in its first years.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Dore Gold, Netanyahu's political consultant
Although the Israeli government has approved the pullout of Israeli troops, the 450 Jewish settlers in Hebron are determined to dig their heels in.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
\"We are not planning on leaving, on the contrary we are planning to bring as many people as possible to live in the City of the Patriarchs. We have plans to continue to build here, we have plans to continue to develop here, and this is what we will do.\"
SUPER CAPTION: David Weilder, Hebron Jewish settler
Palestinian residents in Hebron were glued to their television sets awaiting news of the Israeli cabinet meeting.
This Palestinian says Israel has no choice but to continue down the path of peace.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
\"Finally it is clear for Netanyahu, that the agreement which has been signed between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government must be implemented, whether the Labor or the Likud are in power.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Islam El Hijazi, Hebron resident
The accord includes a nine-page protocol on the Israeli troop withdrawal from Hebron and a three-page \"note for the record\" summarizing the agreement on further redeployments.
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