Reports from Israel say that the latest withdrawal of its troops from the West Bank could be postponed for several weeks.

The third phase of the withdrawal programme was due to begin next Thursday under the terms of the interim peace agreement signed with the Palestinians last September at Sharm el Sheikh.

The latest hand-over would place about forty percent of the West Bank under Palestinian control.

The BBC Jerusalem correspondent says the timing of the withdrawal will now probably be decided in Washington, where the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, meet for American-sponsored talks on Thursday.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service