The move defused tension in the area which had seen Palestinian police in firing position squaring off against Israeli soldiers late on Thursday in the southern Gaza Strip.

Clashes first broke out on Thursday when the Israeli Army set up a barricade barring Palestinian traffic from the coastal road near Jewish settlements in the Gush Katif area in southern Gaza. When the Palestinians began throwing stones, the soldiers shot back tear gas, witnesses said. No injuries were reported.

Palestinians retaliated by blocking roads leading to three Israeli settlements in the Gush Katif area with hundreds of cars and trucks.

An Israeli Army spokesman said, ``the Army decided to make an exception and let Palestinian convoy through'' on a road near the Gush Katif settlements, after contacts betweenthe Israeli Army and Palestinian security services.Shortly before the Palestinians had lifted their own road blocks leading to the settlements, the spokesman said.

In Israel, settler representatives and the far-right accused the Army of succumbing to pressure from the Palestinians, while Left-wing parties praised the military for avoiding a potentially bloody confrontation.

According to the Palestinians, the Israeli Army had barred the coastal road on Thursday to Abdel Aziz Shahin, the Palestinian Food Minister. But a senior Israeli officer told AFP that Shahin and his entourage had been authorised to use the road leading to the Gush Katif settlements even though access was normally denied to Palestinians for security reasons.

``But they refused to go through unless about 20 Palestinian vehicles behind them were allowed to follow,'' the officer said.