Israel will allow 600 foreign-trained Palestinian security forces to be deployed in the West Bank town of Jenin, the country's defence minister said on Tuesday.

Members of Palestinian security forces train in the West Bank town of Jenin on Tuesday.
(Mohammed Ballas/Associated Press)

Ehud Barak's decision was announced amid continuing efforts to keep law and order in areas under the control of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The deployment is also part of the revived peace process between the Abbas administration and Israel.

Barak didn't say when the police would arrive. He said he would discuss the issue at a meeting on Wednesday with the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad.

In recent months, Abbas has deployed hundreds of Palestinian police officer security forces to the northern West Bank towns of Nablus and Tulkarem.

The Palestinian police to be deployed in Jenin recently completed a U.S.-funded training course in Jordan.

Barak's announcement was made ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Israel next week to check on progress in the U.S.-backed peace talks.

Some Palestinian officials appeared puzzled over Barak's announcement. Diab al-Ali, a top Palestinian security commander in the West Bank, said there are currently enough security forces in Jenin.

Fayyad himself said the Palestinian Authority is capable of achieving security without extra forces in place.

With files from the Associated Press