ISRAEL: Israel has agreed to hand security control over the West Bank cities of Jericho and Qalqilya to Palestinians next week in what it called a step to firm up a ragged ceasefire and advance a US-backed peace plan, writes David Horovitz in Jerusalem.
The deal also offered the Palestinians the chance to regain control over two larger cities, Ramallah and Tulkarm, later but Israeli security sources said any further "terror attacks" would scuttle handovers.
The accord appeared to be aimed at salvaging a six-week-old truce that has frayed badly this week from two Palestinian suicide bombings retaliating for continued Israeli army raids.
Israeli Defence Minister Mr Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Mr Dahlan struck the deal at unannounced talks, their second meeting in as many days.
"They agreed that Israel will transfer security control of Qalqilya and Jericho to the Palestinian side early next week," a senior Israeli security source said.
"The Palestinians also will submit a plan to Israel for reassuming security responsibility over Ramallah and Tulkarm . . . Israel will consider this plan over the next 10 days or so and give its answer."
Israel had also pledged steps to ease movement of Palestinian civilians who have been bottled up by army roadblocks.
Palestinian officials had been demanding Israel turn over Ramallah, where President Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Mahmoud Mr Abbas are based, to prove goodwill on the peace plan.
They had earlier spurned offers of Qalqilya and Jericho, noting the first was ringed by a controversial new Israeli security wall and the other largely quiet and in local hands during a 34-month-old Palestinian uprising for independence.
Earlier yesterday, some 73 Palestinian prisoners, whose planned release earlier this week was postponed because of two suicide bombs, were freed.
Despite the day's jubilant scenes of families reuniting, PA officials dismissed the prisoner release as irrelevant, and a spokesman for the Islamic extremist Hamas movement vowed at a rally in Gaza to use "all means" to secure the freedom of the more than 6,000 prisoners who remain in Israeli jails.
An Israeli Prisons Service spokeswoman described the men and one woman who were released yesterday as minor figures who had been held for car theft, illegal entry into Israel and other such offences.
The Israeli government says it will not see free prisoners "with blood on their hands", and has stressed that the US-backed "road map" to Palestinian statehood does not require that it release any prisoners at all.
The releases come with the 1½ -month ceasefire in apparent danger of collapse. Israel is now sending the army almost daily into West Bank cities to arrest (and sometimes kill) men it alleges are planning bombings and shootings. And while Palestinian extremist groups profess to remain committed to the ceasefire, they continue to carry out intermittent suicide bombings and other attacks.
The Palestinian Authority meanwhile said it had intercepted a $3 million payment - reportedly from Iran - intended for use by Palestinian extremist groups to carry out fresh attacks on Israeli targets. The PA said it had distributed the money to charitable organisations.
(Additional reporting Reuters)