GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Palestinians have a detailed security plan for ensuring quiet during Israel's upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, but are suffering from a dire lack of weapons and equipment, a Palestinian security official said Saturday.

Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, said Palestinian forces are woefully ill-equipped in all major areas, including arms, ammunition, transportation and communications.

"We have less than 20 per cent of the rifles we need for our security men,'' Abu Khoussa said. He said the shortage of bullets is even more dire. "If a bullet is fired, it isn't replaced,'' he said.

Abu Khoussa said the Palestinians have raised requests with Israel and American officials for better arms and equipment. He said Israel has failed to respond to the requests, while the Palestinians say the Americans "understand'' their needs.

Israeli defence officials say they are ready to consider the Palestinian requests, but haven't made any decisions. Israel fears weapons and bullets could be used in attacks against Israelis, as has happened in the past.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have stepped up pressure on Israel recently to co-operate with the Palestinians.

The Americans say a successful withdrawal is crucial for future peace efforts, and hope it will lead to a resumption of the "road map'' peace plan meant to bring about an independent Palestinian state.

Dov Weisglass, a top aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was set to travel to Washington later Saturday for meetings with Rice, though Israeli officials said the arms issue wouldn't be on the agenda.

Israel has repeatedly demanded the Palestinians maintain quiet during the Gaza evacuation, which is set to begin in less than three weeks, and threatened a harsh response to any attacks on settlers or soldiers during the operation.

An independent group last week issued a report that said the Palestinian security forces are bloated, poorly armed, and suffer from corruption, despite attempts to overhaul them.

Despite such troubles, Abu Khoussa said the Palestinians have developed a detailed plan to maintain quiet. "The entire security apparatus will be involved in ensuring a safe withdrawal,'' he said. "All security forces will be on high alert.''

The plan would include sending Palestinian police into abandoned Jewish settlements to prevent looting, stationing other forces outside the settlements, while also placing units into open areas to prevent militants from firing rockets at Israeli targets.

After the withdrawal is complete, the forces would turn over the infrastructure inside the settlements to technical teams charged with planning the future of Gaza, Abu Khoussa said.

Under the withdrawal, Israel is planning to uproot all 21 settlements in Gaza and four small communities in the West Bank. Roughly 9,000 settlers will be uprooted from their homes.

Sharon proposed the plan last year as a unilateral act meant to improve Israel's security after several years of fighting with the Palestinians. But following the election of the moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas early this year, Sharon said he would be willing to co-ordinate the withdrawal.

Despite numerous meetings between the two sides, many key issues remain unresolved, including the fate of abandoned settlers' homes and farms, Gaza's border crossing with Egypt, and Palestinian exports, which would likely have to move through Israel.

Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, now a special international envoy on the Gaza withdrawal, met with Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip on Saturday to discuss co-ordination efforts.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with Abbas, Wolfensohn said he expected an agreement in the coming days over what to do with the rubble from settler homes. Israel plans on destroying the homes, but the two sides haven't decided where to send the debris.

"Much of the rubble actually, the cement and the bricks, can be reused in Gaza,'' Wolfensohn said. "That's a commercial decision that Palestinian businessmen can make, but my expectation is that a large volume of this can be reused for housing ... It's not being forced on the Palestinians, it's something that's an opportunity for the Palestinians.''

Meanwhile, the Palestinian finance minister, Salam Fayad, warned in an interview that this year's budget deficit could reach $900 million US, an all-time high.

He told the Saudi newspaper Al Watan that the Palestinians have received only about $240 million US in foreign aid this year, less than one-quarter of what has been pledged. The Palestinians rely on foreign aid for more than half of the annual operating budget.

In an interview this week, Fayad said with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Algeria, Arab donors have failed to honour their pledges.

He said he has proposed legislation that would force many workers to retire from the bloated public sector, including the security forces, and place limits on new hires.