Armored vehicles will be delivered to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' security forces within the next month, a Palestinian government minister said on Friday.

Israel agreed in November to allow the Palestinians to receive up to 50 lightly armored vehicles but a dispute emerged over a Palestinian demand that they have guns mounted on them.

Riyad al-Malki, who serves as both foreign and information minister in Abbas' Western-backed government, said the Palestinians dropped the demand for now, clearing the way for delivery of the vehicles without mounted guns.

"It won't take longer than a month," Malki said of the first shipment. "We will raise the issue again with the Israeli side in order to have the guns mounted on the armored vehicles."

Israel agreed to an initial delivery of 25 armored trucks and said an additional 25 could be authorized if Abbas' forces make progress exerting greater security control in the West Bank.

The vehicles had been offered to the Palestinians by Russia several years ago but the transfer was put on hold after Hamas won elections in January 2006.

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