Israel dismantles Tulkarem control

Israel dismantled a major checkpoint in the northern West Bank district of Tulkarem on Tuesday, signalling a transfer of security control to armed Palestinian forces who deployed across the city. The giant Anabta metal gate, which lies on the main road east of Tulkarem, is the major Israeli control point in the district and had been closed for since shortly after the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000. As troops opened the 10-metre-high (33-foot) barrier, an Israeli officer shouted "Mabruk!" (Arabic for congratulations) to his Palestinian counterpart.
The two-metre-wide gate, which is painted yellow and mounted on concrete blocks, has long controlled the main eastern entrance to Tulkarem.
After Tulkarem governor Ezzedine el-Sharif had complained that anything less than its disappearance would be inadequate, witnesses said it was later fully dismantled and driven away on the back of a lorry.
Late Monday, the Israeli army handed over control of the district to their Palestinian counterparts in what was the second security transfer in a week. Last Wednesday, Palestinian security forces took over limited control in Jericho.
Under the terms of the deal, armed Palestinian security forces can deploy throughout the region apart from the three villages of Ramin, Alar and Seida where troops are permitted to patrol unarmed.
Although Palestinian traffic can flow around the clock through the Kafriyat checkpoint, Israelis will keep control of that roadblock south of the town.
The military will also maintain the Taybeh checkpoint, south-west of Tulkarem, which controls access to Israel.
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH FACING CRISIS: The Greek Orthodox Church was flung into a fresh crisis Tuesday as Palestinian MPs voted for Arab Orthodox Christians to secede from the Greek patriarchy following its alleged sale of Jerusalem land to Jewish investors.
The latest twist in the ongoing scandal, which has resurrected a bitter split within the Greek Orthodox community in the Holy Land, came as the Greek Patriarch Irineos I denied any involvement in the alleged land sale in Jerusalem's Old City.
In a special session to discuss the crisis, the Palestinian parliament passed a resolution urging the Palestinian Authority to no longer recognise the authority of the Greek Orthodox patriarchy over the Orthodox Arab community.