Israel decided today on a partial troop pullout from the West Bank city of Hebron as a US envoy toured the Middle East with a peace proposal, Israeli political officials said.
Defence Minister Mr Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio he wanted "the whole world to understand we are interested not only in curfews and closures but also in leaving territory that is quiet and under control".
The political officials said Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon approved the pullout plan presented by Mr Ben-Eliezer at a meeting they held before the start of the weekly cabinet session.
Troops will redeploy later in the day but remain in two Palestinian neighbourhoods overlooking settler enclaves in the city, which was divided into Israeli and Palestinian-controlled areas under a 1997 interim peace deal, the officials said.