The Israeli army said yesterday it was demolishing or sealing the West Bank family homes of four Palestinian suicide bombers who killed 21 Israelis in Jerusalem.
The army sealed off the village of Asira al-Shamaliya, near Palestinian self-ruled Nablus, where it was carrying out the punitive action against the bombers' families. Military officials said the operation was being carried out without incident.
Israel is responsible for security in the village of 8,500, although Palestinians control civilian affairs.
However, the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, said the move was a violation of Israel-PLO peace deals.
The militant Islamic group, Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attacks on July 30th at the Mahane Yehuda outdoor market and on September 4th at the BenYehuda pedestrian mall.
"This morning Israeli armed forces are demolishing and sealing four structures in the village of Asira al-Shamaliya in which the families of the suicide bombers lived," an army spokesman said.
"This is not a punishment. It's simply a deterrent measure aimed at preventing bombings in the future," the spokesman said.
The High Court of Justice last week rejected an appeal by the families against the army orders.
In Paris on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, will present the US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, with maps showing various options for Israel's next troop pullback from the West Bank, a senior official said yesterday.
But Mr Netanyahu told a briefing for diplomatic reporters that his cabinet would not finalise its proposals for the long-overdue pullback until mid-January at the earliest "barring any unforeseen surprise".
The withdrawal itself would begin only five months later and be carried out in stages on condition the Palestinians "live up to their commitments" to fight terrorism, he said.
The United States has openly urged Mr Netanyahu to speed up the withdrawal, required of Israel under interim peace agreements, and to cede a "significant" amount of new territory to Mr Yasser Arafat's autonomy government.
But Mr Netanyahu has so far declined to provide Ms Albright with any details of the proposals under discussion in his cabinet.
The two, who have met three times in the past month, will hold a new round of talks in Paris on Thursday.
For the first time, Mr Netanyahu will be accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Mr David Levy, a relative moderate in the right-wing government who has been urging Mr Netanyahu to speed up the pullback process.
Ms Albright will then meet Mr Arafat later in the day in London, Palestinian officials said.
The senior Israeli official quoted by Israel radio said Mr Netanyahu would present Ms Albright with maps outlining the various pullback proposals and brief her on the cabinet deliberations.
Israel media reports say the government is split over two proposals, one put forward by the hardline Infrastructure Minister, Gen Ariel Sharon, and another by the more moderate Defence Minister, Mr Yitzhak Mordechai.
But Mr Netanyahu said the media was "exaggerating the differences". He also said Israel had been "updating" the Palestinians on their deliberations.