Barak seeks handover delay

Jerusalem - The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, wants to delay the final stages of a handover of West Bank land to the Palestinians until February, far beyond a timetable set by the Wye River land-for-security deal, aides said yesterday. Last year's US-brokered interim accord called for Israel to complete all three phases of the pullback from 13.1 per cent of the West Bank within 12 weeks in exchange for Palestinian security moves and other measures.