GAZA, Feb. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Former Palestinian Interior Minister Mohammed Dahlan said on Tuesday that a Palestinian delegation will not accept security handover of the West Bank city of Jericho without surrounding areas.

    A Palestinian delegation held a meeting Monday night with the Israeli side, insisting on an Israeli pullout from Jericho and its surrounding areas and removal of checkpoints, Dahlan told reporters.

    He said the Palestinian negotiators will not accept any idea that harms the interests of the Palestinian people.

    Jericho, a quiet oasis in the Jordan River valley, is to be the first of five cities to revert to Palestinian control as part of a ceasefire agreement reached a week ago at a Palestinian-Israeli summit in Egypt.

    However, the handover of Jericho due on Tuesday has been delayed by a last-minute disagreement over the size of the territory that will be transferred and the placement of Israeli roadblocks around Jericho. Enditem