Israel to withdraw troops from Bethlehem

Israeli and Palestinian security officials have reached agreement on an Israeli troop withdrawal in the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem.

An aide to Yasser Arafat says the withdrawal will "prepare the atmosphere" for troop pull-outs in other Palestinian areas.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh says both sides have agreed that the withdrawal will be complete within 48 hours.

The agreement was reached between Israeli defence minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Palestinian interior minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh.

According to the Israeli defence ministry, its forces will withdraw on the condition that "the Palestinian side takes responsibility to calm the security situation and reduce violence".

The planned withdrawal will mark the first time in months that negotiations between the two sides have prospered.

In a meeting that lasted three hours, Mr Ben-Eliezer met with senior Palestinian security officials in Tel Aviv to discuss the plan, under which Israeli troops in Bethlehem and parts of the Gaza Strip would redeploy from Palestinian areas.

"The talks are aimed at getting a cease-fire and reducing tension," Mr Ben-Eliezer told Israeli army radio, prior to the meeting.

The minister told a cabinet meeting that the number of Palestinian attacks against Israelis had decreased over the past week.

However, he put the drop down to army operations and said there was no decline in Palestinian attempts to strike military and civilian targets.