Israeli troops began to pull out of the West Bank town of Beit Jala tonight as part of a wider withdrawal expected from recently reoccupied Palestinian-ruled areas, Palestinian sources said.
However, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian inside his store near the West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinian security sources said.
Amjad Ali Ami (22) was killed when an Israeli bullet hit him in the head in the village of Beit Omar, the sources said. There were no reports of clashes in the area at the time.
Earlier it was reported that US-brokered negotiations had moved Israel and the Palestinians a step closer to a ceasefire as Israel agreed to hand back control of autonomous areas taken in a major push early this month.
The first steps back from weeks of spiralling bloodshed came as US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney arrived for his own talks, pointedly urging Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat to "renounce violence as a political weapon."
Mr Cheney aimed to bolster the efforts of US special envoy General Anthony Zinni, but he quickly drew the ire of Palestinians who threatened to boycott his visit for failing to schedule a session of talks with Mr Arafat.
General Zinni, meanwhile, presided today over the first high-level security contacts between the two sides since the fighting escalated three weeks ago.
The Israeli defence ministry said after the meeting of the joint security high committee that Israel would relinquish control of autonomous Palestinian areas on the West Bank overnight.
A statement said Israel "will tonight hand back to the Palestinians security responsibility as part of the army's withdrawal process from the territories." It was not clear exactly when the troops would leave.
In Washington, the State Department kept up pressure on Israel for a full withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.
"We continue to expect a complete withdrawal from all remaining Palestiniancontrolled areas that Israeli defense forces entered in recent weeks," spokesman Mr Richard Boucher told reporters.
Israel cleared the way for the General Zinni mission Friday by pulling out of West Bank and Gaza Strip towns it had seized in its biggest push into Palestinian territory since the 1967 Middle East War.
But Israeli military officials said they still had units around the West Bank towns of Bethlehem, which troops re-entered late Sunday, Beit Jala, Jenin and Nablus.
Israeli troops began to pull out of Bethlehem late today, Palestinian security sources said, as relative calm returned to the region.
Two Qassam 2 rockets manufactured by the radical Palestinian Hamas group fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel near the coastal town of Ashkelon, but fell harmlessly on farmland.
After the rocket attack, Israeli tanks and bulldozers advanced into the Gaza village of Al-Qarara in an incursion that left five Palestinians wounded and during which two homes were demolished, Palestinian security sources said.
And Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian armed with an automatic rifle and grenades late Monday at an Israeli checkpoint on the border with the Gaza Strip, the army said.
Both sides sounded more upbeat after Monday's meeting of the security high committee which a US official called "professional, serious and constructive."
Mr Cheney, meanwhile, flew in for a 24-hour visit on the latest leg of his 11-nation regional swing aimed at scouting Arab support for Washington's war on terrorism and possible moves against Iraq.
He quickly plunged into the conflict here that threatened to overshadow his lobbying efforts, lining up talks with Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and other Israeli officials, and conspicuously leaving Mr Arafat off his schedule.
"We call on chairman Arafat to live up to his commitment and renounce once and for all violence as a political weapon," Mr Cheney said soon after arriving.
Mr Cheney reaffirmed the "unshakeable" US commitment to Israel's security but also spoke of steps Mr Sharon can take "to alleviate the devastating economic hardship experienced by innocent Palestinian men, women and children."
Israel's deadly operations since the end of February have drawn sharp criticism from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who compared Israel's use of fighters, helicopter gunships, missiles and bombs against Palestinians to all-out conventional war.
AFP