Israel said before a visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday that it would consider calls to pull its troops away from West Bank cities to facilitate a Palestinian presidential election.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, echoing election officials, urged Israel to redeploy forces and curtail military operations for the January 9 ballot to choose a successor for Yasser Arafat.

“If elections are held under occupation, people will say the candidate rode in on top of an Israeli tank”, Qurie told Reuters, alluding to fears ordinary Palestinians would view agreement to run in such circumstances as kowtowing to Israel.

Israeli newspapers reported Powell would raise the issue with Israel after arrival in Jerusalem later in the day on his first visit in 18 months. He will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

“If there is a formal request we will deal with it”, a senior Israeli official said. “It would be brought to the cabinet, which would consult the security services.” Israel says its network of roadblocks in the West Bank and raids is necessary to stop suicide bombers from reaching its cities. But the official said Israel intended to “facilitate and expedite” the holding of a free election.

Powell’s visit follows a pledge by US President George W. Bush to capitalise on what he called new opportunities for peace after the death of Arafat.

But there appeared to be little chance of any immediate breakthrough in breathing new life into the plan, which calls for an end to bloodshed and resumption of negotiations leading to the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005.

“We will ask Mr. Powell specific questions about how to renew the peace process. We want to know how the road map will be implemented, what are the timelines”, Qurie said, citing an “end to chaos” in Palestinian territories as a top priority.

Powell will be replaced by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who has been on the frontline of the Bush administration’s contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Thelatter has held out the prospect of talks with any new Palestinian leaders who are prepared to end what he termed anti-Israeli incitement as a first stage and then crack down on militants.

But he has said he also intends to press on with a unilateral pullout from Gaza and parts of the West Bank in 2005. Palestinians have voiced deep suspicions about the “disengagement”, which Sharon has said entails keeping large West Bank settlement blocs under Israeli control forever.

Jeffrey HELLER