ISRAEL: In what is being viewed as an effort to boost the standing of the newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, Israel has told the United States it will implement a number of measures aimed at easing the lives of Palestinians and improving the functioning of the Palestinian Authority, as soon as Mr Abbas's new government is sworn in.
That could be as early as next week, with Mr Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) and Palestinian Authority President Mr Yasser Arafat having forged an agreement over the composition of the new cabinet in a lengthy meeting late on Thursday night.
Mr Arafat had opposed the original cabinet proposed by Abu Mazen because it sidelined a number of his loyalists.
The remaining dispute is over the role of former Gaza security chief Mr Mohammed Dahlan. Abu Mazen considers him crucial in an effort to control militants, but Mr Arafat does not want him to play a security role.
The US, which wants to see Mr Arafat's grip on power loosened, has been pressing Israel to adopt confidence-building measures to coincide with the appointment of Abu Mazen, and has said it will publish the long-anticipated "road map" for peace in the Middle East once he takes office.
The list of measures Israel plans to take, and which were presented to Bush administration officials in Washington earlier this week by a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, include a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian Authority territory, the release of security prisoners, and the transfer of funds frozen by Israel since the start of the Intifada.
The Americans were told that Abu Mazen and his new government would be able to choose an area where they will deploy Palestinian security forces in an attempt to curb militant activity. If they succeed, then the Israeli army will begin a gradual withdrawal from other areas.
If they fail, the army will reoccupy the area from where it withdrew.
The army's planning division has suggested, however, that the first withdrawal take place in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian security forces are stronger. In the West Bank they have been decimated by Israeli military action.
Israel will also begin to transfer more of the two billion shekels ($430 million) in customs duties owed to the Palestinian Authority, which it froze as a punitive measure at the outset of the uprising. There will also be an increase in the number of permits issued to Palestinians seeking work inside Israel.
Mr Sharon, who has refused to meet Mr Arafat, has said he is ready to meet Abu Mazen (68), regarded as a moderate, as soon as he takes office.