Israelis must pull out troops after ceasefire: Abbas

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK: Israel's decision to call a unilateral ceasefire after its three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip must be followed by a troop withdrawal, the Palestinian Authority said on Saturday.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas, said the move should only be a "first step" while senior negotiator Saeb Erakat predicted the ceasefire will not last if soldiers remain in Gaza.

"This Israeli decision to stop the fire is a first step and should be followed by a truce, the end to the closure surrounding Gaza and the withdrawal of troops," Abbas's spokesman told AFP. Announcing the end to the offensive late Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that soldiers would remain in the territory for an unspecified period with orders to respond to any fire from Hamas militants, who have been the target of Operation Cast Lead.

Erakat, however, said that it was important that the international community puts pressure on Israel to make sure that the Israeli troops do not linger.

"If the troops remain in Gaza, then I don't think the ceasefire will last," he told AFP.

"Because of that president Abbas asks the international community to pressure Israel to implement the withdrawal from Gaza very soon. "We need the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza because there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza that needs to be resolved."

Sunday, AFP