ARABS-ISRAEL - Jan 30 - Israel Ready To Leave Some West Bank Cities.

The Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz says the country is preparing to hand over security control of several West Bank cities to the Palestinians in the next few days, in the latest sign of increasing co-operation between the two sides. The Israelis and Palestinians have resumed security and diplomatic discussions this month, and if the process goes smoothly, the Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, and the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, are expected to meet on or around Feb 8, both sides said over the weekend. State Sec Condoleezza Rice is expected in the region a few days earlier, giving added significance to any top-level Israeli-Palestinian meeting as all the parties explore ways to revive peace talks. (Sharon, who has been PM for nearly four years, refused to deal with Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died in November. Sharon's last meeting with a senior Palestinian leader was during the summer of 2003, when he held discussions with Abbas, then the PM). In the security talks, Shaul Mofaz, met late Jan 30 night in a Tel Aviv hotel with a former security chief who is negotiating on behalf of the Palestinian leadership, Mohammad Dahlan, said: We talked about handing over responsibility, as has started in the Gaza Strip. We believe that in the next few days they will get responsibility over other towns in the West Bank". The Palestinian PM, Ahmad Qurei, speaking in the West Bank city of Ramallah, called the security meeting "very successful". The Palestinians say they expect to be given control of Ramallah, the HQ's of the PA - along with Jericho, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya and possibly Bethlehem. The Palestinians are demanding that Israel pull back its security forces to positions they held before the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000. In the early days of the fighting, Israeli forces made only limited forays into Palestinian cities and towns. But as the violence intensified, Israeli troops invaded the West Bank in the spring of 2002, at the height of the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign. Israeli forces have operated in or near Palestinian cities in the West Bank since that time. If Israel pulls back from Palestinian cities, Palestinians would have much greater freedom to move about, easing one of the great frustrations that Palestinians face daily. But Israel says that easing travel restrictions in the past has led directly to an increase in attacks against Israel. Palestinian security forces have deployed throughout the Gaza Strip over the past week, and violence in the territory is down considerably. At the regular Israeli cabinet meeting on Jan 30, Mofaz told ministers that Palestinian attacks have dropped by up to 75% in recent days. He said: It's still not a cessation of terror. But they have shown a readiness to continue to assume responsibility and press ahead with security cooperation". Abbas, who was elected three weeks ago, has won a pledge from leading militant groups to temporarily suspend attacks, and Israel has praised his efforts. On Jan 28, Israel said it would halt offensive military operations in Gaza and sharply reduce them in the West Bank in response to the steps taken by the Palestinian leadership. While violence is down, it has not stopped. Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man who entered an area off limits to Palestinians along the Gaza-Egypt border, the military said. In another development, Jewish settlers and their supporters held a huge demonstration Jan 30 evening outside the Israeli Parliament building in Jerusalem to protest Sharon's plan to withdraw settlers from Gaza. The Israeli media estimated the crowd at more than 100,000. The settlers, many dressed in orange, have staged several such demonstrations in recent months, and now maintain a permanent vigil outside Parliament, the Knesset. The settlers and their backers are demanding a national referendum on the withdrawal plan, or new national elections, though opinion polls have consistently shown that two-thirds or more of Israelis support Sharon's proposal. Sharon has described a referendum as a stalling maneuver and says he will press ahead with the evacuation of the more than 8,000 settlers in Gaza, along with several hundred in the West Bank. The withdrawal is planned for this summer.