Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on April 15 that Israeli troops occupying two major cities in the Palestinian West Bank will withdraw within a period of between two days to one week.

　　Sharon said troops would first be pulled out from Jenin and Nablus in "maybe two days...within a week." "We don't have any intention to stay in those cities of terror...once our mission is accomplished, we'll be leaving," Sharon saidBut Ariel Sharon said that about 200 militants in the Church of the Nativity must surrender before Israeli troops withdrew from Bethlehem. He confirmed that an agreement had been made with the United States to allow some of the Palestinians in Bethlehem to leave Israel.

　　"Israel sticks to its commitments," Sharon said, noting that those not expelled would be tried by Israeli courts.

　　The situation in Ramallah,swheresPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his aides have been confined by a state of siege at their headquarters, similarly presented an obstacle to withdrawal, Sharon said.

　　Calling the Palestinian militants "murderers of Jerusalem," Sharon said reports of a "massacre" at the Palestinian camp at Jenin were greatly exaggerated, with civilian casualties not more than "a few dozen." Palestinian officials have said up to 500 people died when Israeli troops stormed the Jenin camp last week.

　　The withdrawal from Nablus and Ramallah was a significant scaling back of the Israeli campaign. However, Palestinians are demanding a complete Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank before they will consider a cease-fire deal.

　　Secretary of State Colin Powell, who failed to negotiate a truce during his Mideast visit, said Israel should loosen its confinement of Arafat to give him a better chance of exercising his authority.

　　"I think the more access he is given, the opportunity he is given to show whether or not he can control forces or bring this security situation under control," Powell said in Washington on NBC's "Meet the Press."

　　Israel says it will maintain its siege of Arafat's headquarters until he surrenders four men wanted for the killing last October of Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi and the man accused of arranging a weapons shipment to militant groups.

　　Arafat's aides have said the suspects are in custody in the compound and will be tried by the Palestinian Authority.

　　Powell said the United States and other countries were trying to bridge the differences between Israel and Palestinians over the suspects.

　　He also said he was pleased that Israel's withdrawal of forces from Nablus and Jenin and sections of Ramallah "seems to be well under way" but would like to see it continue "until there is no more question about it."

　　However, Israel still has troops in many parts of Bethlehem, not just around the church. Israel said a pullout from other parts of the biblical city would leave exposed the troops surrounding the church.

　　The liberal Israeli daily, Haaretz, said in an editorial that "Israel must make every effort to ease the suffering of many of the camps' residents and help bring life back to its normal routine."

　　On April 21, the Israeli military said it arrested a leader of the Tanzim militia and 12 other Palestinians after a brief gunbattle in the Qalandiya refugee camp outside Ramallah.

　　Army authorities said Nasser Abu Hmeid, 31, was responsible for training fighters of Tanzim, the military wing of Arafat's Fatah movement, and was the right-hand man for Marwan Barghouti, the Tanzim leader who was arrested April 16. Hmeid was involved in several shootings and bombings against Israelis, the army said.

　　The army's withdrawal from Nablus was largely completed before April 21, and some residents rushed to check apartments that had been taken over by Israeli soldiers in recent weeks.

　　The army spokesman said troops would remain on the outskirts of the cities, and suggested that further incursions were possible if Palestinian militants attack against Israelis.

　　In Ramallah, the departing tanks and soldiers left buildings and roads heavily damaged, street lighting knocked out, stores in ruins and cars crushed on the roadside.

　　Also, the Israeli military released Reuters news photographer Mahfouz Abu Turk, who was detained on April 20 at a checkpoint near Jenin. He said he was held at a military base for 20 hours while blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back but was not questioned.