Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday that he is freezing the handover of West Bank towns to Palestinian security control because the Palestinians have failed to honor their promise to disarm militants.

Mofaz spoke during a meeting of the security cabinet, and his comments were reported by participants who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian Authority has not been formally notified of the freeze. "It's a very unfortunate approach and decision," he told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to free a further 400 Palestinian prisoners, as agreed in the truce deal. Israel freed 500 prisoners in February. Israeli and Palestinian Cabinet ministers are to meet next week to discuss the release.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the security cabinet Wednesday that he will meet soon with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Israel Radio reported. The radito reported the two will most likely meet after the Independance Day holiday next week.


PA SECURITY CHIEF: PA HAS NO INTENTION OF DISARMING MILITANTS

The PA security chief said Wednesday it has no intention of disarming militants despite constant Israeli calls for such a move and a recent pledge to crack down on unlicensed weapons.

"We have no intention of withdrawing arms of resistance," Rashid Abu Shbak, the head of the internal Preventive Security Service, told a news conference in Gaza.

The announcement came amid growing friction between armed factions and security forces following the arrest of two Hamas men after a gunfight on Monday night. The militants were accused of planning to attack Israel in defiance of a cease-fire.

Abu Shbak specifically rejected Israel's request for a start to disarmament before it hands over the last three of five West Bank cities it was to return to Palestinian security control under a February truce agreement.

Abu Shbak said militants must still honor their commitment to the cease-fire agreed by President Mahmoud Abbas and should not take their weapons out in public.

"Arms of resistance should not be displayed in streets. Arms of resistance should not be used in family feuds. Arms of resistance should not kill a woman who goes out with her fiance," he said, referring to the recent killing by two Hamas militants of a woman they accused of immoral behaviour.

The Palestinian Authority began a law-and-order drive last weekend aimed both at ending lawlessness and ensuring the truce is followed.

Abbas has always said he prefers dialogue with militants to using force to rein them in, but Israel has said repeatedly that there will be no peace negotiations until the dismantling of militant factions.


ABBAS: ISRAEL WANTS PALESTINIAN BLOOD TO BE SPILLED

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Tuesday of wanting Palestinian blood to be spilled, according to the Palestinian government news agency, WAFA.

Abbas has come under stiff pressure from Israel to curb Palestinian militants, but although his rhetoric has become fiercer recently, he has been reluctant to confront them.

"Israelis want Palestinian blood to be spilled, and we don't accept that," WAFA quoted him as saying. "This is a red line. We run our security in our own way, for our people's protection. We work day and night, there are obstacles, and progress is slow."

Still, he said, "the Palestinian Authority is acting to prevent chaos and a proliferation of guns on the streets and in public places."

In a meeting in his office in Ramallah on Tuesday, Abbas also told a group of businesspeople, academics and public officials that the Palestinians "would not accept anything less than 1967 borders," and should not be disheartened by large settlement blocs in the West Bank, because there is a precedent for settlement removal.

"We should not be discouraged when we see huge settlements like Ma'aleh Adumim and Ariel and think that these settlements won't be removed," WAFA cited Abbas as saying.

"A settlement in Sinai was removed in Egypt after Camp David, and it is possible now," he said, referring to Israel's dismantling of the Yamit settlement in the early 1980s as part of its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula under the Camp David peace accord with Egypt.

Abbas has promised to hold a national referendum on any final status agreement with Israel, WAFA reported.