A row over the 18, arrested Saturday at the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and were to have been transferred to Jericho or the Gaza Strip, prompted a Palestinian group to threaten to end its suspension of anti-Israeli attacks.

However, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades issued a new statement Sunday saying it remained committed to the truce. Fourteen of the group in Ramallah are Brigades members.

"We confirm that we are committed to the ceasefire with the Zionist enemy," the group said in a faxed statement.

The Israeli government has urged the Palestinians to crack down on resistance groups such as the Brigades, insisting that a ceasefire announced by the main resistance factions on June 29 was insufficient.

But Palestinian minister of state without portfolio Abdelfatah Hamayel told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "It's been decided that they (the 18) will not be transferred to Jericho or Gaza".

Instead the leadership was seeking "international guarantees" that the detainees, along with the rest of the "hundreds of wanted Palestinians" would not be targeted by Israeli attacks.

The move was likely to harden the attitude of the Israeli government as a ministerial commission was due to meet late Sunday to consider releasing more Palestinians in Israeli jails.

The committee, headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was expected to widen the criteria for lists drawn up by the Shin Beth security agency recommending which prisoners should be freed.

Shortly before Sharon's July 29 meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, Israel announced it would free around 540 prisoners, including 210 members of Islamic resistance groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The Palestinians have been pushing for the release of all their estimated 6,000 prisoners in Israeli jails.

The Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that the committee could now pave the way for the release of "hundreds" more prisoners in addition to the 540.

The announcement that the first 540 prisoners would be freed was part of a package of measures unveiled by Israel ahead of the Bush-Sharon meeting which sought to give new momentum to a US-backed peace roadmap.

Continuing their effort against the Israeli separation wall, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath warned Israel's building of a controversial security barrier was causing major damage to the peace process after a landmark meeting Sunday with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom.

"The wall is creating a major rift in the peace process," Shaath told reporters after his first working meeting with Shalom in (occupied) Jerusalem during which the two agreed to set up a joint team to help overcome obstacles in the roadmap for peace.

But a senior Israeli official said the Palestinians had been told that the Israeli government had no intention of executing a U-turn on plans to build the barrier across the West Bank.

The Palestinians regard it as a move to preempt the boundaries of any future two-state settlement although Israel insists its intention is merely to stop infiltrations by Palestinians intent on attacking Israeli targets.

"We told him (Shaath) that it will help the peace process because it will prevent extremists from (having) the ability to implement more attacks against Israelis," the Israeli official said.

The Israelis also insisted that the Palestinians must work to dismantle the infrastructure of resistance groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad which are currently observing a truce declared in late June.

"We talked about a permanent ceasefire. But we cannot give extremists the ability to decide" whether they carry out attacks, the official added.

Shaath said he recognized that "the road to full agreement (on the roadmap) needs hard work ... but we are sure there's no alternative to political dialogue."

Shalom said that their meeting had "helped build a platform of cooperation between us."

"We have also agreed to work together to foster a more positive international climate for peacekeeping."

In another development, Israel's state prosecutor recommended Sunday extending the detention of West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti who is being tried on “terror” charges by three months, judicial sources said, according to AFP.

The prosecutor's office justified the recommendation saying that if freed Barghuti, who is known to have widespread support on the Palestinian street, would "threaten public security in Israel".

Barghuti, considered a prime motivator behind the Palestinian Intifada, was captured by Israeli troops in April 2002 when he was a member of the Palestinian parliament and first appeared before an Israeli court in September that year.

The 44-year-old has been charged with orchestrating attacks against Israelis, belonging to a terrorist organization and possessing weapons, accusations which could see him sentenced to life imprisonment.