Israel said Sunday it would begin to hand over security control to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday, less than a week after beginning a similar transfer in Jericho. The announcement came as the Jewish state looked to Arab leaders to ease the way to normalising full diplomatic ties with Israel ahead of any final Palestinian accord by endorsing a revamped peace initiative this week.
Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said the Tulkarem transfer - the second such process of ceding security control in the West Bank - would begin "tomorrow".
Israeli and Palestinian officers later began talks at Tulkarem's main district coordination office (DCO) checkpoint - used for coordination with the Palestinians - to discuss the transfer.
"It is very important for us to see how the Palestinians fulfil their commitments on everything in taking responsibility in West Bank towns," he said, without specifying how long the transfer would take.
"In the first instance that means dealing with the wanted Palestinians, their ability to keep order, dismantle terrorist infrastructure and prevent attacks in the sectors where they have taken responsibility."
Tulkarem governor Ezzedine al-Sharif told AFP that local security forces were ready to assume their responsibilities.
"It will be clear in this meeting whether the Israeli army will really withdraw from Tulkarem or not... We are ready to control the city and we have a security plan to do so," Sharif said.
Israeli troops are not deployed in Tulkarem itself, and only wage specific operations within the city, such as missions to find those behind a February bombing in Tel Aviv, carried out by an Islamic Jihad militant from Tulkarem.
Last Wednesday, Israel handed over limited security control to the PA in Jericho in a full handover that is to take four weeks to complete.
But Palestinian security sources have already accused Israel of reneging on the agreement by checking vehicles coming into Jericho from the south, rather than just outgoing traffic as prescribed under the deal.
Israeli jeeps are also parked on the road north to Al-Auja village, where soldiers had not previously been set up. A Palestinian security source said there had been no contact between the two sides for three days.
Ceding security in Tulkarem and Jericho, as well as Ramallah, Bethlehem and Qalqilya, was a key issue agreed at a landmark Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Egypt early last month.
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