Palestinians poised to receive control of West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian police commanders began preparations Sunday to take control of four West Bank towns by midweek, after top Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed on a security plan for the West Bank.

Transfer of the towns' control would be the first large-scale Israeli move on the ground to acknowledge that violence has decreased significantly since Palestinians elected Mahmoud Abbas to replace the late Yasser Arafat as their leader Jan. 9.

If the calm holds, Israel promises to move all its troops back to positions they held before the latest Palestinian uprising began in September 2000, turning the populated areas of the West Bank back to Palestinian control and making a major step toward resuming peace talks.

In another significant move, an Israeli official said amnesty would be granted for fugitive Palestinians in the West Bank, ending Israel's relentless search for dozens of extremists suspected in attacks on Israelis. In more than four years of conflict, dozens of militants have been killed in Israeli raids and many more have been arrested.

The amnesty would allow Abbas to fulfill a key campaign pledge that fugitives would be allowed to reintegrate into Palestinian society with no fear of Israeli reprisal.

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 Jewish settlers and their backers demonstrated Sunday night in Jerusalem against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate all 21 Gaza settlements and four West Bank outposts this summer.

The protesters demanded a referendum on the plan, but Sharon has rejected that as a delaying tactic, and he appears to have the political muscle to push the plan through. In all, 8,500 settlers stand to be displaced.

"Ariel Sharon, you have no mandate to expel Jews," said Effie Eitam, a pro-settler lawmaker who spoke to the crowd. The demonstrators pledged to go to Gaza to block the pullout.

Palestinian officials say Abbas and Sharon have agreed to meet for the first time since 2003, when Abbas was prime minister. It would be the first meeting between an Israeli premier and a Palestinian leader since 2000, when Arafat sat down with then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Feb. 8 was emerging as the date for the summit, which would be two days after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive in the region.

Both sides appear eager to put four years of violence behind them, but the bloodshed has frayed trust. Each side has qualified its declarations about bringing peace by saying that progress depends on the actions of the other side, and it is clear the atmosphere could sour quickly if there is a serious Palestinian attack or Israeli military strike.