Israel transferred the West Bank city of Tulkarem to Palestinian control Monday night, after two meetings between the sides earlier in the day succeeded in resolving problems which had prevented the transfer from taking place as scheduled.
The transfer, which saw uniformed Palestinian police begin patrolling the streets, got underway at 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), sparking celebrations by city residents.
The handover will be completed Tuesday morning when the main Israeli army roadblock in front of the city is removed.
photo: Pedro Ugarte_AFP
