Israel promises to upgrade checkpoints

TEL AVIV, Israel, March 30 (UPI) -- Israel Sunday promised it would upgrade hundreds of checkpoints to reduce the waiting time for Palestinians, officials said.

Israel said it would remove about 50 roadblocks in the West Bank, The New York Times reported.

Similar agreements have been made in the past. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is visiting the region, said the United States must do more to monitor such agreements.

"We haven't been monitoring and verifying during the last two years," she told reporters. "We want to be much more systematic about what is being promised and what is being done than we have been able to be in the past."

While Israel has agreed to ease up on movement regulations in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority agreed to take on increased responsibility for security in the region.

After meeting with Rice, Palestinian officials agreed to implement the Phase 1 portion of the proposed peace plan to improve security in the region, a U.S. State Department release said.

The improved West Bank efforts will be in part funded and advised by members of the international community, including the United States.