A special session of the cabinet, which examined whether the Palestinians had met their initial obligations under the US-brokered Wye River peace accord signed last month, approved the pullbacks when seven of the 17 ministers voted in favour, five against and three abstained.

The first of the three withdrawals, five days behind schedule, beginning tonight near the Palestinian town of Jenin is to be phased in over 12 weeks.Israel is obliged in the first redeployment phase to transfer another two per cent of the West Bank to partial Palestinian control and pull out of another 7.1 per cent that is now held jointly.

It will be Israel's first withdrawal from occupied West Bank land since January 1997 when it handed over most of the city of Hebron to Palestinian rule.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat issued a decree outlawingincitement to violence, a key requirement under the deal.Arafat's chief aide Tayeb Abdel-Rahim read out the decree outlawing ``incitement of racist prejudice and encouragement of violent practices that violate the laws''.

Palestinian police said yesterday they would start confiscating illegal weapons on December 6 in compliance with the accord's timetable.Another first-phase Palestinian commitment under the accord was met earlier this month when the PLO executive committee reaffirmed the annulment of clauses in the Palestinian charter calling for Israel's destruction.

The deal signed at the White House on October 23 last also obliges the Palestinians to begin implementing a `security work plan' parallel to the first Israeli redeployment.