ARABS-ISRAEL - March 14 - Israel Pulls Out Of Ramallah As Zinni Pursues Peace Deal.

Late at night, the Israeli Army begins withdrawing its tanks from Ramallah, as US envoy Gen. Zinni arrives in Israel to meet Sharon to secure a ceasefire. According to the Israeli government, the Army pulled out completely by dawn on March 15. (The start of the withdrawal follows rare criticism of Israel from US Pres. Bush, who said on March 13 the offensive was "not helpful" to creating conditions for peace. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called for a full Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territories). On March 15, Zinni visited Ramallah to share his views with Arafat on the next steps towards a ceasefire. Arafat who said the Israeli withdrawal was a trick, a show for Zinni's benefit. Arafat spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said there would be no meetings with the Israelis until they withdrew from all Palestinian towns. But the violence continued, with four Palestinians killed when their car exploded in a village near Tulkarm. They were killed by Israeli forces. Two of the dead were identified as Fatah members. Earlier, the local leader of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and two civilians were killed in a helicopter missile attack in the same area. The deaths followed a Palestinian attack in the Gaza Strip, in which three Israeli soldiers were killed when bombers blew up a Merkava tank that had been escorting a convoy of Jewish settlers. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by a variety of militant groups, including Al Aqsa Brigades. Israeli troops moved into Bethlehem early in the morning on March 14, occupying buildings.