Israeli troops could pull back from several West Bank cities within days, pending the outcome of further talks with the new Palestinian leadership, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Sunday. In another sign of a possible revival of peacemaking after more than four years of violence, officials from both sides said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would meet around Feb. 8.‘‘I think there is an opportunity to create a new reality,’’Mofaz told Israel Radio after holding talks late Saturday with Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza security chief, on confidence-building steps. ‘‘One of the issues we discussed is the transfer of (West Bank) cities,’’ Mofaz said.‘‘It is very possible responsibility will be transferred (to Palestinian security forces) in some of the cities in the next few days. We are supposed to meet again to finalize the issues.’’ Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said such a pullback would be “a step in the right direction.’’‘‘It’s still not a cessation of terror . but they have shown a readiness to continue to assume responsibility and press ahead with security cooperation.’’ Mofaz said he and Dahlan discussed the issue of a prisoner release in general terms ‘‘but nothing has been decided on the scope or timing.’’ The planned Sharon-Abbas summit would coincide with a scheduled visit to the region by new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis, mainly settlers, gathered in Jerusalem to protest against Sharon’s Gaza pullout plan, demanding he put it to a nation-wide referendum.Police were out in force during the rally in Front ofIsrael’s parliament building. It was one of the largest protests held against Sharon’s plan .Protesters carried signs that read: “Let the people decide”and “Sharon is tearing the Israeli people apart.”Israeli settlers have warned that violent clashes could break out between settlers and Israeli forces during a pullout.Famed Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon deadJERUSALEM: Ephraim Kishon, a Holocaust survivor who became one of Israel’s best known and most widely translated authors, died at his home in Switzerland. He was 80. ‘‘One of the cultural giants of our generation passed away last night,’’ Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Sunday. Kishon survived Nazi labour camps and immigrated in 1949 to Israel, wrote political satire that poked fun at life in the new Jewish state. ‘‘It is a country where nobody expects miracles, but everybody takes them for granted,’’ he wrote on Israel. — Reuters
