Palestinian security to get a chance to stop bombers

Israel’s foreign minister said today that the army was prepared to withdraw from two West Bank towns occupied more than a month ago.

Shimon Peres said the move would go ahead as long as Palestinian security forces were ready to take over and prevent attacks against Israel.

But in new violence today, two Palestinian militants were shot dead by Israeli soldiers when they tried to attack a Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip, the army said.

Two soldiers were lightly injured in the clash, the officers said.

Mosque loudspeakers in the nearby Palestinian town of Khan Yunis announced that the militant Islamic Jihad group carried out the attack.

Also, Israeli authorities agreed today to allow the reopening of the office of the leading Palestinian official in east Jerusalem.

Police closed Sari Nusseibeh’s office two weeks ago, claiming the president of Al-Quds University had violated peace accords by engaging in Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem.

Nusseibeh, who is also the chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Jerusalem, said he had agreed not to take part in politics.

The Palestinians want east Jerusalem for the capital of a future state, while Israel claims sovereignty over the entire city.

Meanwhile, Peres confirmed Palestinian reports that Israel has offered to withdraw from Hebron and Bethlehem if Palestinian security takes control.

‘‘We really want to get out of there as soon as Palestinian security is deployed,’’ he said.

And in another development, Israel yesterday backed away from its threat to deport to the Gaza Strip 21 relatives of suspected Palestinian militants. The 21 were arrested on Friday in the West Bank and are the relations of two suspected attackers.

The reversal came after Israeli legal officials said the relatives could not be deported unless they were directly linked to attacks.

Israel had hoped to use the deportations as a way to deter potential suicide bombers, but the international community condemned the idea.

Human rights groups said it would violate international law and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ‘‘self-defence cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments.’’