960428

Israel spares

60 Palestinian

houses in Hebron

JERUSALEM: Israel agreed to spare 60 illegally built Palestinian houses in Hebron ahead of an expected Israeli army redeployment from parts of the West Bank town, the mayor said on Sunday.

Mayor Mustafa al-Natsheh said the Israeli authorities had informed the owners of the houses, built around Hebron during the past 10 years without permits from the Israeli military authorities, it wanted to demolish them.

Natsheh said he had appealed to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to intervene with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres to stop the demolition.

"I was informed by President Arafat that Peres had agreed to spare the houses," Natsheh told Israel's Arabic radio.

The announcement came as Muslims began a four-day celebration of Eid ul-Azha, or the Feast of Sacrifice -- the main Muslim feast.

No Israeli officials were available to comment on the report. Hebron, a flashpoint of violence, is the only West Bank town where Jewish settlers live among Palestinians. Israel was scheduled to redeploy its troops out of parts of the city in March under a self-rule deal with the PLO. But it delayed the redeployment following a spate of Islamic militant suicide bombings in February and March.

Natsheh said Israel is yet to inform him of a date for redeployment, but he said he expected the pullout to take place early in May.-Reuter