Citing "senior officials," both reports said Israeli forces will also pull out of the West Bank town of Bethlehem, but did not say when.

The moves will come as part of a deal reached Friday under which Israel will leave certain autonomous areas re-occupied after the Palestinian uprising broke out 33 months ago, with the Palestinian Authority agreeing to police those areas and guarantee that no anti-Israeli attacks are carried out from them.

The reports said Israeli officers will meet with Palestinian counterparts Sunday to discuss the details of the withdrawal from parts of the northern Gaza Strip. These were re-occupied recently following an outbreak of Palestinian rocket attacks on nearby Israeli targets, notably the town of Sderot.

Public radio added that "if the Palestinians do not honor their commitments and stop anti-Israeli attacks being organized from the sectors evacuated, the Israeli army will feel free to act against terrorist organizations."

For its part, army radio pointed to what it said was the "concern of military leaders, who fear that uncontrolled terrorist bands will not obey the leadership of the different Palestinian organizations and will continue to carry out attacks."

WAR.WIRE