Israel to approve security equipment for Abbas

By Adam Entous

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday he had agreed to the transfer of new vehicles and equipment to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces and to ease travel restrictions for West Bank businesses.

But, citing fear of militant infiltrations, Ehud Barak signalled he would continue to resist Palestinian and Western demands for mass removals of checkpoints and roadblocks that restrict travel and trade within the occupied West Bank.

"The list of steps we intend to take to make life easier for the Palestinians, without relinquishing our overriding security responsibility, is important in moving the negotiations forward and maintaining a positive atmosphere," Barak told reporters before talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Israel hopes the measures, announced ahead of a weekend visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will help blunt complaints it was not doing enough to bolster U.S.-backed peace talks and Fayyad's "law and order" drive in the West Bank.

Barak said the roster included equipment for Abbas's forces, including his elite Presidential Guard, and new vehicles, some of them armoured. Barak's office said he discussed the items with Fayyad but it declined to give details on types or amounts.

Previous shipments for Abbas's forces have been supplied by European and Arab donors, and were at times held up by Israel.

"The talks (with Barak) focused on implementing the road map obligations as well as security and economic conditions in the Palestinian areas," Fayyad's office said in a statement, referring to a 2003 U.S.-sponsored plan for a Palestinian state.

A Palestinian official said Barak was "forthcoming" on issues like roadblocks and deployment of Abbas's forces. But the official said Fayyad would not immediately elaborate further, preferring to see if Israel was serious about implementation.