Jerusalem - After days of last-minute bickering, Israeli and Palestinian officials last night reached agreement on the arrangements for opening a first "safe-passage" route, enabling Palestinians to travel across Israel between the West Bank and Gaza, writes David Horovitz.
Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, has approved the terms of the deal, and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, was driving to meet with Palestinian Yasser Arafat late last night to get his approval. The route, said Israel's Internal Security Minister, Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami, would now open "at the earliest possible convenience".
The safe-passage corridor was to have been opened several days ago, but the two sides could not agree on security arrangements and on details relating to issuing permits for Palestinians making the journey, with Israel insisting that its sovereignty not be undermined.