Israeli forces arrested a wanted Hamas terrorist last night north of Ramallah. A mortar shell was launched last night at the southern Gush Katif community of Morag, and Arabs fired at IDF forces near Shechem; no one was hurt.

Several issues had been in dispute regarding the transfer of Jericho, including the checkpoints around the city and control of the village of Ouja just to the north.

As per the final agreement, the checkpoints along the Jordan Valley Highway – a critical south-north artery leading from Jerusalem to the Kineret Sea and Golan areas – will remain in place. The western checkpoint, however, was removed, enabling free Arab travel from Ramallah to Jericho. "We will no longer be able to stop terrorists from using this route," an army officer told Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler.

Dubi Tal, the Jordan Valley Regional Council head, told Arutz-7 that the handover of Jericho will not terrifically affect the Jewish residents. "To say we're not worried at all would not be true," he said, "but on the other hand, we've reached arrangements with the IDF such that our lives will barely be affected. There will be free passage for Arabs from Jericho westwards to Ramallah, but our north-south traffic won't be affected at all; the checkpoints preventing potentially dangerous persons from crossing into Israeli-controlled areas will remain in place."

Tal said that the one possibly problematic change will be that PA policemen will be allowed to patrol in Ouja, armed not with rifles but with pistols. These forces will not be allowed to come near the Jordan Valley highway, however, and the IDF will increase its patrols in that area.

He expressed optimism that as part of the agreement, Jewish access to the ancient Shalom al Yisrael synagogue will be arranged within a short time.

"I emphasize that we're not totally unconcerned," Tal said, "because we do remember that this area was one of the places where the Oslo War broke out, and there have been attacks in our communities. But at present we feel we can rely on the army to provide its immediate solutions. What's really of concern to me, if we're already talking, is the [anti-terrorism] wall that's being built, with frightening entry points in the north and south; it will not only effectively cut us off from the rest of Israel, but will also attract terrorists from the west [where there is no wall]."

Tal agreed that, if they don't want to be next in line for "disengagement," the best hope for the Jewish communities in the Jordan Valley is to grow, and quickly. "At present, we are 750 families altogether [in 19 communities], and if we also include the town of Maaleh Ephraim and the Dead Sea area of
Megillot, we are 1,200. Our work is cut out for us. If I may just add in a word of public relations, this time of year is the most beautiful of all – everything is green and full of brooks and water, and we're expecting many tourists and hikers to come and see for themselves."