MIDDLE EAST: Israel is to begin easing travel restrictions on Palestinians by removing several roadblocks in the West Bank. It will also soon allow some Palestinian workers from Gaza back into Israel in line with agreements reached on Tuesday by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a summit in Egypt.
Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, meanwhile, is facing growing pressure inside his ruling Likud party to agree to a national referendum on his Gaza pull-out plan, with both his foreign minister and the speaker of the parliament announcing that they support such a move.
The new Palestinian leader, Mr Mahmoud Abbas, announced the easing of the travel restrictions, which he said would be part of Israel's withdrawal from five Palestinian cities in the coming weeks.
Speaking after his return to Ramallah from the summit in the Red Sea port of Sharm El-Sheikh. Mr Abbas said that the roadblocks would be "manned by Palestinian forces". The first town expected to be handed back to Palestinian control is Jericho.
Mr Abbas hopes that the lifting of travel restrictions will increase support among his people for his position that dialogue is a more effective means of achieving Palestinian national goals than the use of force.
The large number of roadblocks Israel has erected across the West Bank since the intifada began in September 2000 - severely restricting the movement of people and goods - has strangled the Palestinian economy.
Israel says that the roadblocks, where Palestinians' documents are checked by soldiers, are needed to prevent suicide-bombers from entering its cities.
Mr Abbas and Mr Sharon declared an end to hostilities at this week's summit and also agreed to co-ordinate an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The two men could meet again within a week, this time at the Israeli leader's Sycamore Ranch in the southern Negev desert.
While the level of violence has declined dramatically in the last few weeks - Mr Abbas has persuaded most militant groups to hold their fire and Mr Sharon has agreed to halt military operations in the territories - hostilities have not ceased. In Gaza yesterday, a 22-year-old man was shot and seriously injured near a Jewish settlement. The Israeli army said that it had fired shots at a group of people who entered a prohibited area.
In the Khan Younis refugee camp, also in the Gaza Strip, a member of Hamas was killed yesterday in an explosion. Members of the militant group said later that he had been handling explosives. In the West Bank, two separate incidents occurred in which gunmen opened fire on Israeli vehicles, but no injuries were reported.