Sharon: Partial West Bank withdrawal within week

Israeli forces enter Tulkarem

Sharon: Israel has nothing to hide in the Jenin refugee camp, where Palestinians have reported atrocities.

TEL AVIV, Israel (CNN) -- Israeli forces will be out of all West Bank cities and towns except Bethlehem and Ramallah within a week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told CNN on Monday.

Ramallah is the scene of an ongoing siege at Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound. Israeli forces have surrounded Arafat's headquarters since March 29, when Israel's operation in the West Bank began.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet Wednesday with Arafat, the State Department said, a day after a third meeting with Sharon.

In Bethlehem, a standoff continued at the Church of the Nativity where an estimated 200 armed Palestinians and some 40 church workers have been holed up since taking refuge after Israeli troops entered the city April 2.

Sharon ordered the West Bank operation to root out what he called "terrorist infrastructure," saying troops would leave when they were finished. The Palestinians call the campaign an Israeli reoccupation of the West Bank.

In Monday's interview, Sharon said Israel has nothing to hide in the Jenin refugee camp, where Palestinians claim Israeli forces killed hundreds of civilians. Israeli officials have denied that, but the Israeli military has refused to allow Western reporters into the camp. (Sharon interview) (Sharon transcript)

IN-DEPTH  CNN NewsPass Video    •  Palestinian politics  MORE STORIES   •  IDF: Arms workshops destroyed in Rafah  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Gallery: Palestinian fatalities  RESOURCES   •  Victims of terror   •  TIME.com: Orchestrating a common ground  Powell's itinerary: April 8: Powell begins his trip in Morocco, meeting with King Mohammed VI and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. April 9: Powell meets with Egyptian leaders in Cairo; announces he plans to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat when he arrives in Israel. April 10: Powell meets with European Union leaders in Spain; Israel gives go-ahead for Powell-Arafat meeting. April 11: Powell stops in Jordan and meets with the country's king and Cabinet before traveling to Tel Aviv, Israel. April 12: Powell meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Several hours later, a suicide bomber kills six people in Jerusalem; Powell postpones his meeting with Arafat, scheduled for the next day. April 14: Powell meets with Arafat in Ramallah, West Bank, and holds a second meeting with Sharon in Tel Aviv. April 15: Powell meets with officials in Lebanon and Syria to discuss violence along the Israeli-Lebanon border. April 16: Powell to meet with Sharon. April 17: Powell to meet with Arafat.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said after the interview that Sharon's talk of withdrawal was a "sham" and he was defying the demands of the United States and world community to withdraw from Palestinian lands.

"This man will never change. He denies the occupation. He denies the massacres. And he says it is hard to be a Palestinian and his solution is to kill them," Erakat said. (Erakat transcript)

"When we ask, 'Why are we facing this hardship, 35 years of being subject to the Israeli occupation,' Sharon's solution is to kill us."

Erakat said Sharon was "playing with words." He continued: "This man says he is committed to peace. What peace -- when you have 35 settlements in one year? What peace -- when you confiscate Palestinian land? He denies occupation, he denies Palestinians' cry for freedom."

President Bush said Monday the planned withdrawals from Nablus and Jenin "increase prospects" of achieving peace, and although they do not comply with previous White House demands for withdrawals "without delay," he said he still considers the moves "positive."

According to White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, Bush called Sharon on Monday and urged him to take steps to "improve human conditions" of Palestinians throughout the West Bank.

"There's no question the events of the last two weeks lend further reason for people to be concerned about the Palestinian human condition in the West Bank," Fleischer said.

"It is something the United States cares a great deal about. And the president is worried about the humanitarian conditions." (Full story)

Meanwhile, Powell said Monday the United States was looking into the possibility of a Middle East peace conference that Arafat would not have to attend.

Powell said such a conference could be held at a ministerial level and Arafat could send representatives, which would circumvent Israeli objections to Arafat's presence.

Sharon renewed his proposal for a peace conference Sunday but said Arafat -- whom he calls a terrorist -- should be excluded. (Full story)

Powell met separately with Arafat and Sharon on Sunday, but no signs emerged that any progress was made toward a cease-fire.

Israel arrests Arafat aide

Israeli troops arrested Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti near Ramallah on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Barghouti, considered very close to Arafat, is the secretary-general of Arafat's Fatah movement, and has been accused by Israel of having links to Palestinian militias and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military offshoot of Fatah.

He went into hiding when Israel began its military campaign. Fatah is the mainstream faction and Palestinian nationalist movement of the Palestine Liberation Organization. (Full story)

Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships moved into the West Bank town of Tulkarem early Tuesday morning, Palestinian sources said, one week after Israeli forces withdrew from the area. Witnesses reported seeing at least 20 tanks and two helicopters firing simultaneously.

In Bethlehem, meanwhile, blasts were heard Monday near the beleaguered city's Manger Square. The Israeli military said it had destroyed an explosives laboratory. Fighting and casualties also were reported Monday in and around the city. (Full story)

In Jenin, Palestinian teams located 14 bodies in the refugee camp Monday, Israel Radio reported. The teams removed seven bodies, but seven others were not moved because of the fear buildings might collapse, according to reports.

Allowed to go into the camp, Israeli reporters said they saw widespread destruction but no signs of a massacre.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli Cabinet approved a plan that would set up security "belts" along the border between Israel and the West Bank, sources said Monday.

The belts would be 5 kilometers wide, with fences and electronic surveillance intended to prevent Palestinians from passing into Israel and to limit crossings to specific sites, the sources said.

Fear over Lebanon border attacks

Powell returned to Israel on Monday after shuttling to Lebanon and Syria to talk with officials about the recent escalation of violence along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Suspected Hezbollah fighters have launched attacks on Israeli positions almost daily for two weeks, particularly in the disputed Shebaa Farms area on the edge of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Israel has responded with heavy air attacks against suspected Iran- and Syria-backed Hezbollah hideouts in southern Lebanon.

"It is critical for those who support peace to act immediately to stop attacks across the border," Powell said after meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

"We confirm that Israel is responsible for the current escalation because it blocked all former efforts seeking peace and rejected international resolutions that demand its withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories," Hammoud said.

"Consequently, the resistance and the intifada became the only way to force Israel into implementing these resolutions."

Powell also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who called for a "peaceful comprehensive political solution."

Powell then traveled to Damascus where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad to discuss violations of the so-called "Blue Line."

Drawn by the United Nations two years ago, the line marks the border between Lebanon and Israel after the Jewish state withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon following a two-decade occupation.

Of his overall Mideast mission, Powell said, "What I am interested in doing right now ... is bringing an end to the violence, bringing an end to this conflict, because what we need to do is get violence down so we can go forward as quickly as possible to find a political solution."