Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon has ordered the Israeli army to carry out a phased withdrawal from the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank, an Israeli source said.
"It will be a full withdrawal, but a cordon will remain around Ramallah and the withdrawal will be gradual according to operational needs," the source said.
He did not say when the withdrawal would start.
Israel began the assault on Ramallah - the West Bank power base of Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat - on Monday as part of its broadest offensive against the Palestinians in decades.
