Jericho to be first town returned to Palestinians

The isolated oasis town of Jericho and the area around it will be the first of five West Bank towns to be transferred to Palestinian control, an Israeli official said today.

An earlier plan had Tulkarem, which is next to Israel, as the first town to be handed over.

The official said the change was made in agreement with Palestinian officials. He said the Palestinians were not yet ready to take control of Tulkarem.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz was to hold talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas today to finalise the handover, the official said.