Tulkarm Takes the Reins, and Hopes for a More Open Road

Tile vendor Nihad Shalakhteh said that for the first time in four years, he was able to drive through the spot where the yellow steel gate swung open early Tuesday morning. In the past, Shalakhteh said, he had to leave his car on one side of the gate, walk around and get a taxi on the opposite side to continue on to Tulkarm, seven miles away.

Shalakhteh, 30, from the West Bank town of Nablus, said he hoped to see other Israeli checkpoints removed.

"We want them to apply the same thing in Nablus," he said.

As Palestinian police took their positions in Tulkarm and nearly a dozen surrounding villages, residents voiced hope that the transfer of security responsibilities augured a broader relaxation of Israeli controls and would help revive the local economy.

"Nothing has changed yet," said Abdulaziz Ismail, 45, who was selling strawberries in downtown Tulkarm. "Let's see the impact of this decision on the movement in the streets, in the stores. We want to see economic improvements."

Tulkarm is the second West Bank town in which Israel has yielded security control under agreements reached at last month's summit in Egypt.

Kalkilya is expected to be handed over soon, followed by Ramallah and Bethlehem.

For Israel, the Tulkarm hand-over represents significantly more risk than the transfer last week of Jericho, a desert town that has remained mostly peaceful since the outbreak of violence in September 2000.

The Tulkarm area, by contrast, has been a hotbed of Palestinian militancy and a launching pad for a number of suicide bombings, including one outside a Tel Aviv nightclub last month that left five Israelis dead.

A massive bombing in March 2002 also was carried out by a militant from Tulkarm. It killed 30 people during a Passover gathering in the nearby Israeli town of Netanya and prompted an Israeli military offensive across the West Bank.

During the last 4 1/2 years, Israeli troops remained largely on Tulkarm's outskirts but frequently raided the town in search of militants. The operations often resulted in shootouts.