JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants shot and wounded two Israeli border policemen Monday in an attack on a military post near a West Bank shrine, the latest attempt to disrupt a delicate ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reacting to the attack, said Jews would continue to live and pray in Hebron, endorsing the settler presence in the tense city.

Despite the violence, both sides reported progress on transferring West Bank cities to Palestinian security control after weeks of deadlock over whether Israel would remove army roadblocks outside the towns. The Palestinians had insisted on the removal of the roadblocks, which have severely disrupted life in the West Bank during more than four years of fighting.

The town of Tulkarem was to be transferred Tuesday, with the army removing a road barrier that separated Tulkarem from the West Bank's largest city, Nablus, Palestinian security officials said. However, the main army checkpoint outside Tulkarem will remain in place, the officials said.

Israeli army officials said the tentative agreement still requires government approval.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas were to meet Tuesday to discuss the handover of West Bank towns, the highest-level negotiations on the issue.

Monday's shooting happened in Hebron at a checkpoint guarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a shrine revered by Muslims and Jews. The army said the shots came from downtown Hebron. One border policeman was seriously wounded.

Soldiers imposed a curfew in the old city of Hebron, rounded up about 100 people for questioning and conducted house-to-house searches, Palestinian officials said. Israeli military officials said the army had closed off certain areas.

Speaking in parliament, Sharon said the Hebron incident was an "attempt to attack Jewish freedom of religion at one of the Jewish people's holiest sites.''

He added, "Jews will continue to pray at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and to live there.''

About 500 Jewish settlers live in three enclaves in the middle of Hebron, the only West Bank city divided into Israeli and Palestinian-controlled zones. Clashes between the two sides are frequent.

Fighting has dropped sharply since Sharon and Abbas declared an end to violence at a Feb. 8 summit in Egypt.

But sporadic violence has persisted. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub on Feb. 25. The assailant, dispatched by the Islamic Jihad militant group, came from a village near Tulkarem.

While failing to scuttle the truce, the suicide bombing prompted Israel to freeze plans to turn over security control in the West Bank towns.

Israeli and Palestinian commanders met Sunday to discuss the transfer for the first time since the suicide bombing.

Izzedine al-Sharif, the governor of Tulkarem, said Israel agreed to remove a gate that had closed the road between Tulkarem and Nablus. However, Israel will keep a large roadblock south of the town in place. After the pullback, some 2,500 Palestinian police would deploy in town, he said.

The senior Palestinian participant in Sunday's talks, West Bank commander Hajj Ismail Jabber, said "it was agreed in principle that the Israeli army will begin Tuesday withdrawing from Tulkarem and the areas around the town, and afterward we will discuss the Israeli withdrawal from the other towns in the West Bank.''

On Monday, Palestinian forces in Tulkarem wrapped up preparations for the handover. Dozens of young troops in military fatigues marched in formation and conducted a series of calisthenic drills in an abandoned dirt lot.

At one point, the soldiers formed a human pyramid and screamed "Jerusalem is ours!'' Later, the soldiers sprinted and jumped headfirst through a flaming hoop.

Elsewhere in town, camouflage-wearing troops congregated on a street corner, while blue-uniformed police patrolled and directed traffic.

In a sign that Mideast peace efforts were gaining momentum, Jordan's King Abdullah said in an interview broadcast Monday he would work to update a 2002 Arab League peace offer to Israel at an upcoming summit in Algeria.

Talking to Israel's Channel Two TV, he said there was a need to "re-articulate'' the offer to take into account Israel's concerns. The offer included recognition of Israel by all Arab countries in return for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and Golan Heights, along with promising an agreed solution for Palestinian refugees.

Abdullah said he was surprised Israel did not respond positively to the initiative.

On Sunday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulqi met Israeli leaders, the first such visit in more than four years. Jordan recently named an ambassador after leaving its embassy vacant through most of the current conflict.