Local Hamas activists have pledged to obey the law, Mideast envoy Tony Blair has taken a stroll through once gunman-infested neighborhoods and policemen are now the only ones carrying weapons in public
in this former militant hub.
The West Bank's second-largest city presents itself as a law-and-order town these days, the first success in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' campaign to wrest control from militias. But Israel says it's still too soon to remove its tight ring of roadblocks choking Nablus, raising questions about the formula underlying peacemaking - better Palestinian security performance in exchange for greater freedom of movement for 2.1 million West Bankers.
Without such a tradeoff, enshrined in the US-backed "Road map" peace plan, it's unlikely Israelis and Palestinians can build enough trust to make progress on the far more complex issues of a final peace deal.
Palestinian negotiators, from Abbas on down, say they raise the fate of Nablus in every meeting, asking their Israeli counterparts to ease movement in and out of the city. They warn that Abbas will increasingly lose credibility if the 170,000 residents of Nablus don't see improvements soon.
In recent days, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has also come under public pressure from others. This week, a dozen senior army reserve officers sent him a letter, warning that the internal obstacles to travel in the West Bank - hundreds according to the UN - only sow more hatred against Israel and that other means are available to try to stop suicide bombings.
Last week, Blair, the envoy of the Quartet of Mideast mediators, visited Nablus, noting that "the weight of the occupation is very heavy here." Walking through town to show it's safe - albeit with a posse of heavily armed Palestinian police - he said the Palestinians are meeting their obligations under the road map by disarming militants.
'Capital of terror'
"It's important that this has a response from Israel, with respect to its obligations," he said, in a rare public nudge of Israel. However, Capt. Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said Nablus remains the West Bank's "capital of terror."
During the second Palestinian uprising, which erupted in 2000, scores of suicide bombers and gunmen were dispatched from Nablus to attack Israelis. "It contains some of the most advanced and dangerous
terrorist infrastructure," she said. She said the Israeli military discovered 14 explosives labs in Nablus in 2007 and 58 bombs, and that earlier this month troops found rocket-making materials.
Israel argues that roadblocks, combined with its separation barrier, are crucial for preventing attacks. The
military said that at Nablus' southern checkpoint, known as Hawara, 31 explosive devices and six home-made grenades were seized last year, among other things.
Israel's reluctance to rely on others for the security of its citizens means that the Nablus checkpoints, erected after 2000, remain in place. On a recent afternoon, some 200 Palestinians waited in several slow-moving lines at the Hawara checkpoint. Men walked one by one through turnstiles, had their bags X-rayed and their ID cards checked. Women just had to show their ID cards, and their line moved a little faster.
Some restrictions have been eased. At the height of the uprising, men under 35 were barred from entering or leaving Nablus, while most people can now move through the checkpoints. However, only motorists with special permits, including the drivers of 60 trucks, can drive in and out of the city.
IDF continues to operate
Israeli troops frequently raid Nablus, searching for fugitives. Early Tuesday, troops targeted the shops of
seven moneychangers in Nablus, out of a total of 14 in the West Bank, seizing large stacks of cash the military said were earmarked for militants.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said such raids are counterproductive. "As long as the Israelis keep doing business as usual in Nablus, this will ultimately undermine all the efforts of the Palestinian security," he said.
In recent months, Palestinan security agents in Nablus have used force and persuasion to "retire" vigilante gunmen who had terrorized Nablus residents with blackmail and in the past carried out attacks on Israel.
The security forces brokered amnesty deals with Israel for dozens of members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Abbas' Fatah movement. Most of the local Hamas leaders who hadn't already been arrested by Israel were detained by Palestinian security after the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza in June. Hamas institutions in the city, from charities to job training centers, were closed.
Last week, several Hamas members in Nablus announced they had reached a truce with Abbas' security forces in exchange for being released from prison. They appealed to Hamas members to hand over their weapons, and declared that Hamas is not seeking confrontation with Abbas' government. Hamas activist Zuhair Lubadeh, 47, one of those who signed the declaration, said in an interview that Hamas is trying to ride out the crackdown. "For the past year, we've been like an ember glowing under the ashes," Said Lubadeh.
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