Israelis, Palestinians Discuss Troop Withdrawals
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met a senior Palestinian delegation on Sunday after saying a troop withdrawal plan for the Gaza Strip should be extended to West Bank areas.

The evening talks at a Tel Aviv hotel were the first since August 7, when top security officials on both sides failed to agree on Ben-Eliezer's plan to ease a military clampdown in Gaza as a test case before expanding it to the West Bank.

Palestinian security officials had demanded at least one West Bank city be included in the pilot plan, intended as a first step toward a cease-fire in more than 22 months of violence in which over 2,000 people have been killed.

In a turnaround Sunday, Ben-Eliezer said he was willing to consider expanding what he calls the ``Gaza first'' proposal to West Bank cities.

``I think the issue of 'Gaza-first', which I initiated, will include not only Gaza but also other places,'' Ben-Eliezer told reporters at a meeting with Catherine Bertini, a senior United Nations humanitarian envoy.

``The main idea is to achieve a cease-fire and for tensions and all the violence to abate,'' he added.

``This will allow (us), first of all, to...help (the Palestinians) from a humanitarian aspect by expanding the inventory of civilian aid and enabling them to reach the decisive stage of reform and reorganization so we can enter into a (peace) dialogue down the line.''

Ben-Eliezer, Shin Bet security service chief Avi Dichter and Major-General Giora Eiland, the army's chief negotiator, met Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya and President Yasser Arafat's security adviser, Mohammed Dahlan.

Television coverage of the start of the talks provided the first pictures of senior Israeli and Palestinian officials meeting for months. Most recent meetings between the sides have been held in strict secrecy.
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