Palestinian officials vowed to produce a draft constitution for the Palestinian Authority by the end of this month, during international talks on reforms. The British Foreign Office added a statement the Palestinians had "made a commitment to draw up by the end of January an outline constitution ... based on the principles of democracy, political pluralism, rule of law, independence of the judiciary and the protection of individual freedoms".

The planned constitution forms part of a reform package demanded by Israel and the United States. A "basic law," or provisional constitution governing the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, took effect last July 7.

Palestinian delegates, banned by Israel from travelling to Britain for the conference, participated fully in the meeting thanks to a video link that worked better than expected, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.

After what he called a "constructive" day, Straw said the diplomatic quartet on Middle East peace -- the European Union, Russia, United States and United Nations -- would hold a meeting of its task force on Palestinian reform in London from February 10 to 16.

"We were determined that this meeting should not be seen as a one-off but as part of a process which supported and complemented the work of the quartet," Straw told reporters.

The quartet want civil and administrative reforms put in place to prepare the Palestinians for statehood under a potential peace deal with Israel.

In summing up Tuesday's meeting, the Foreign Office said the Palestinians also undertook to present a "draft cabinet paper on the reform of public administration and the civil service" within a fortnight.

Palestinians State Assessment That Success of Reforms Depended on Israel Ending Current Restrictions on Palestinians

"The Palestinians stated their assessment that the success of their future reform efforts would depend on an end to current (Israeli) restrictions on movement, including closures and curfews," it said.

The Palestinian Authority's de facto ambassador to London, Afif Safieh, said the meeting showed the international community's commitment to setting up a Palestinian state.

"I am happy to say that the verdict today of the international community is that there is a state which is missing and needs to be created," he said after meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Diplomatic Row Between London & Tel Aviv

Plans for the London conference triggered a diplomatic row between the Israeli and British governments, with Israel accusing Britain of "rewarding terror" and London retorting that the Jewish state was hampering reform.

On Sunday, Britain's International Development Minister Clare Short charged Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had "destroyed" the conference aimed at helping the Palestinians build the institutions of a future state.

Israel slapped the travel ban on Palestinian officials after a double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on January 5 that killed 23 people apart from the two Palestinian assailants.

Taking part in the meeting were US Middle East envoy William Burns, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and officials from Russia, the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

EU Puts Onus on Israel

In a statement from Athens, the Greek presidency of the 15-nation EU said it now was up to Israel to prove it was interested in getting the Middle East peace process moving.

"We hail the London initiative and the efforts by the Palestinian Authority to move reforms forward," it said. "We await that the Israelis prove they are just as responsible and that they too take concrete steps."

Meanwhile, Sharon launched a fresh verbal onslaught on Yasser Arafat.

The Palestinian leader "cannot be trusted to carry out reforms which need to be performed in the Palestinian territories and not in London," Sharon told Blair in a message relayed by his embassy in London.

Occupation Troops Detain Hamas Leader

On the ground, Israeli occupation troops continued their daily sweeps of the West Bank and detained one of the most wanted resistance activists in the northern West Bank, Palestinian security sources said.

Salman Daraghmeh, a local leader of the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas who had escaped several assassination attempts by the occupation army, was captured in his village of Tubas, they added.

Clashes erupted between armed Palestinians and Israeli occupation troops late Tuesday in Jenin as Israeli armour raided the northern West Bank city's industrial area, Palestinian security sources said.

After two days of tit-for-tat violence combining a spate of Palestinian attacks and Israeli military operations that killed civilians on both sides, Sharon saw his slide in opinion polls finally come to a halt.

Ahead of a January 28 general election, a poll carried late Tuesday by Israel's channel two television credited the prime minister's Likud with 33 seats in the next parliament while the Labour opposition slumped to 20

PHOTO CAPTION

An Orthodox Jewish man watches the television in an electrical goods store in Jerusalem January 14, 2003 as Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Egyptian head of intelligence Omar Suleiman start a videoconference from London. International mediators, determined to overcome an Israeli travel ban, reached out by video link to Palestinians Tuesday to discuss reforms designed to promote peace and build a future Palestinian state. REUTERS/Gil Cohen magen
- Jan 14 11:57 AM ET