Mofaz, Abbas to meet soon

TEL AVIV - Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are expected to meet in the next few days in a bid to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks in the wake of the suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last month.

כלא יריחו רוצחי השר רחבעם זאבי (צילום: עטא עוויסאת)

The meeting is expected to facilitate the transfer of towns to Palestinian control in the near future.

Earlier Sunday, IDF West Bank Division Commander Brigadier General Gadi Eisenkot met with his Palestinian counterpart Haj Ismail, in a bid to promote cooperation between the IDF and Palestinian security forces.

Army officials later characterized the meeting as "positive", and said the two are expected to meet again in the coming days.

Palestinians say Israel to pull out of Tul Karm soon

The Palestinians, meanwhile, are demanding that Israel begin an immediate withdrawal from West Bank towns and remove IDF roadblocks.

The IDF will begin its pullout from the West Bank town of Tul Karm on Tuesday, Ismail said following the meeting.

IDF officials, however, said a decision on the matter was not

approved by the government and is not final yet

Palestinian police officers are already engaged in intensive training sessions ahead of their expected deployment in the West Bank, a Palestinian source told Ynet.

"The Palestinians are taking out the weapons they hid during the intifadah," he said. "We are talking about weapons that belong to the PA, but we were worried Israel would confiscate them."

Palestinian Minister Muhammad Dahlan, meanwhile, said the PA would

act to halt all military activity against Israel and take legal steps against those who violate the law.

Dahlan said the

PA is committed

to prevent any Palestinian attacks, but also criticized Israel.

"We are aware of the Israeli need for security, but what Israel is doing is an attempt to destroy the Palestinian economy," he said. "There are Israeli steps that are illogical and unacceptable to us."