Israel says removed 50 W.Bank dirt roadblocks

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it had removed 50 roadblocks in the occupied West Bank as part of promises made to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

A senior Palestinian security source said he could confirm the removal of at least three of the dirt-mound obstacles, near the cities of Ramallah, Jericho and Tulkarm. He said Palestinians expected more would be dismantled soon.

A senior U.S. official said "it is hard to assess" the impact of scrapping the roadblocks, let alone confirm all were taken down, because Israel had yet to give Washington or the Palestinians a map showing where they were located.

On Sunday, after talks Rice held with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on bolstering peace negotiations, Israel said it would remove 50 roadblocks, ease travel for Palestinian businessmen and increase the number of entry permits for Palestinian workers.

An army spokeswoman and a defense official said the obstacles were dismantled but declined to disclose their location.

"We have asked for a map and I understand the Palestinians have asked for a map," the U.S. official said. "Our intention is to verify what's happened on the ground. We don't have the information yet to do that."

Israel has built up a network of hundreds of checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, home to 2.5 million Palestinians. It says the barriers stop suicide bombers from reaching its cities.

Citing security concerns, Israel has balked at Palestinian calls to dismantle major West Bank checkpoints. Palestinians say travel restrictions imposed by Israel stifle their economy.

A U.S. general, who is to monitor whether Israel is carrying out its promises to Rice and other commitments under a long-stalled peace "road map" that also obliges Palestinians to take confidence-building steps, is not in the region.

He is scheduled to return next week.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Jon Boyle)