The Israel Defense Forces has significantly cut down on operations involving arrests of wanted Palestinian militants in the West Bank, as a result of agreements reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Since Thursday morning, no such operations have been carried out in the West Bank.

This new development is linked to the meeting Monday between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, but also to the security program of the Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayad, and to Israel's decision to offer pardons to 178 Fatah militants sought by the Shin Bet security service.

So far, the new regulations have still not been conveyed to the IDF in writing, and Central Command has so far been given only oral instructions.

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"For now, we have removed our foot from the gas pedal," military sources told Haaretz Sunday, referring to the level of intensity with which wanted militants in the West Bank are being hunted down.

Authorization for carrying out arrests of Palestinians about whom there is no specific intelligence concerning a potential threat, will now be required from senior-level officers, the sources say. Normally, such decisions would be made by brigade commanders; now they require the authorization of the GOC Central Command, and possibly the General Staff.

However, it appears that the IDF will adopt a policy that distinguishes between Fatah and other organizations. As far as Fatah militants are concerned, the IDF will arrest those described as "ticking bombs," a euphemism for militants presenting an immediate threat and whose plans to attack are imminent.

Fatah militants who have signed a commitment to refrain from terrorism, and who are among the list of 178 Palestinians, will not be arrested unless there is specific information that they are planning to carry out an attack.

Regarding other organizations, it is also expected that the IDF will also limit its efforts to carry out arrests, but to a lesser extent.

Most likely, offensive operations in the cities of the West Bank will be curtailed for a while, in order to evaluate the capabilities and conduct of the Fatah's security forces vis-a-vis militant groups. The PA's emergency government has vowed to check the activities of terror groups and curtail lawlessness.

The general opinion in the IDF is that the restrictions on arrest operations is a gesture with a short expiration date, because the expectation is that the PA will be unable to keep its security-related promises.

Senior officers were quick to point to a number of similar, unsuccessful efforts in the past over the seven years of the second intifada.