JERICHO, West Bank (AFP) - Hundreds of Palestinian security forces were headed to the once-restive West Bank town of Jenin on Saturday after completing training in nearby Jordan, a senior security official said.

""The security forces are on their way to Jenin. They received their weapons this morning and will arrive there between 11:00 am (0800 GMT) and 12:00 (0900 GMT),"" Major General Thiyad al-Ali, commander of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, told AFP.
The security forces have completed a U.S.-sponsored training program in Jordan and the deployment has been approved by Israel, though the Israeli army will continue to maintain a strong security presence across the West Bank.
Ali declined to say how many forces had been sent, but Israel has approved the deployment of some 600 security forces and Palestinian officials have put the number of the initial deployment at 300.
The forces, loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, will press a months-old security crackdown in the northern West Bank that was launched in November in a bid to underpin peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Under the 2003 roadmap agreement, an internationally-adopted framework for peace, the Palestinians must improve security in the occupied territories while Israel halts Jewish settlement activity and dismantles some illegal outposts.
The latest deployment came hours ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's latest visit to the region, in which she is expected to encourage the talks ahead of a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush later this month.