RAMALLAH: “The Israeli withdrawal? What withdrawal? I’ve been a prisoner in Ramallah for five months and General Zinni isn’t going to change anything,” said Palestinian journalist Ahmed Muheiser.

Still beaming after what they perceived as a “victory” against Israeli tanks, most residents of the West Bank’s largest city nevertheless had no illusions on Tuesday on the outcome of US envoy Anthony Zinni’s ceasefire mission to the region.

In Ramallah’s teeming traffic-jammed streets, nobody believed in the Israeli army’s withdrawal from re-occupied self-rule areas since last week, while talk of a resumption of a political process was not even taken seriously.

“We had our hour of glory when the tanks pulled out after three days of occupation and war in our town. But they can come back whenever they want,” said Muheiser, a reporter for the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, with a wry smirk.

“The army withdrew from areas it was not occupying only a week ago, I don’t call this a breakthrough,” said Jamal Kader, a Ramallah lawyer.

Trapped in the city since October, the lawyer, who lives in Jifna, a village a few miles away, finally decided to rent a small furnished room near his Ramallah office.

“It isn’t a ceasefire we need. What we want now is freedom of movement, freedom to export, study and work. I am tired of having to ask Sharon permission if I want to go back to my home,” Kader complained.

On Tuesday, four days after the Israelis wound down its largest military operation inside the occupied territories since 1967, people could go in and out of Ramallah, provided they were ready to spend long hours waiting at army checkpoints.

Many residents opted not to leave their city, for fear of not being able to return.

“Military accords are not going to restore our dignity,” said Kader, blasting the negotiations as an “eyewash”.

“Sharon has signed dozens of agreements but has never respected them. We want an end to occupation, full stop,” said Palestinian MP Abu Ali Muqbel, part of an official delegation that joined journalists commemorating the death of colleague Raffaele Ciriello, killed by Israeli fire on March 13 in the re-occupation.

“All Palestinian factions agree on this point: the struggle should continue as long as Israeli aggression and occupation continue,” added Hassan Yusef, West Bank leader of Hamas.

A woman behind him joined the chorus, shouting: “The civilians also agree!”

“Our morale is high. We have scored points over the past few days, with the tank pull-out, the UN resolution and soon the Beirut summit,” said an upbeat Amal Khrieshe, who heads an NGO. She was referring to resolution 1397, the first by the UN Security Council to mention a Palestinian state, and to next week’s Arab summit during which Saudi Arabia is to unveil.

Although Israel and the Palestinians looked closer to a ceasefire following Dick Cheney’s visit and as Zinni continued to shuttle between the two sides to broker an agreement, scepticism is running high in Ramallah.—AFP