RAMALLAH [MENL] -- The Israel Army has withdrawn from the northern West Bank.

Israeli and PA officials said Israeli troops left four evacuated Jewish communities in the northern West Bank on Saturday. Within minutes of the withdrawal, Palestinian soldiers and civilians entered the former settlements.

The PA Interior Ministry said Israeli troops left the four northern West Bank settlements without coordinating with the PA. The ministry said the PA has not assumed formal responsibility for the settlements.

"Unlike the Gaza Strip, where settlement land was turned over to the PA, the West Bank settlements will be destroyed but remain under Israeli control," a PA official said.