Israel 'poised to leave Jericho'

Palestinian police have been training to take over in Jericho

Israel has agreed to hand over control of the West Bank town of Jericho to Palestinian officials on Wednesday, reports say.

Troops will also withdraw from the towns of Tulkarm and Qalqilya in the coming days, Israeli radio says.

The news came after talks between ministers from the two sides.

Israel agreed to leave five West Bank towns after a summit in February, but the move was held up amid differences over the scope of the withdrawal.

Israeli forces have kept a tight grip on the towns since 2002, after a spate of suicide bombings.

Correspondents say the checkpoints have crippled Palestinian social and economic life.

Symbolic

At last month's Sharm al-Sheikh talks in Egypt, the two sides agreed that Israel will give Palestinian police control over Tulkarm, Jericho, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Bethlehem.

Last week Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said Jericho would be the first to be vacated.

The town was reportedly chosen after doubts over the handover of Tulkarm, which lies close to Israeli population centres and is seen as a greater security threat.

There has been little violence in Jericho since the Palestinian uprising (intifada) began over four years ago, and correspondents say a pull-out would be of mainly symbolic value.

Until 2000 the town relied largely on tourism and the only casino in either Israel or the Palestinian territories.