JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Powell embarked yesterday on a mission to revive the Middle East peace process after Yasser Arafat’s death. Israel, under American pressure to facilitate upcoming Palestinian elections, said it would consider pulling back troops from disputed areas in the West Bank.

Mr. Powell arrived in Israel hours after the assistant secretary of state, William Burns, held talks with both sides, becoming the first senior American diplomat to meet with top Palestinian Arabs in several months. Mr. Powell has separate meetings scheduled with Israeli and Palestinian Arab officials today.

The visits are part of an international push for progress toward a new Israel-Palestinian accord after Arafat’s death November 11 and ahead of January 9 elections to pick his successor as president of the Palestinian Authority. America and Israel boycotted Arafat, charging he was tainted with terrorism.

The British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, will visit the region this week, and the Spanish foreign minister, Miguel Moratinos, is expected December 2.

“I am here to stress strong American support for the Palestinian election,” Mr. Burns said after meeting the Palestinian Authority interim president, Rauhi Fattouh, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Near Ramallah in Beitunia, Israeli special forces killed a Palestinian Arab fugitive and two other terrorists in a car yesterday, the military said. The military said the Palestinian Arabs opened fire first. Palestinian Arab security officials said the three were members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a violent offshoot of the ruling Fatah party.

Israeli troops also shot and killed an armed Palestinian Arab who tried to attack a Gaza road used by Jewish settlers, the Israeli army and Islamic Jihad said.

In the meeting with Mr. Burns, Palestinian Arab leaders asked America to pressure Israel to remove troops from West Bank cities and towns to allow campaigning and a free election.

“We are determined to do everything we can to help in that process and we also support steps by Israel which are needed to facilitate this election,” Mr. Burns said, without elaborating.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel has “every intention of redeploying so as to allow them to have their process of election.”

Shortly after the latest round of Middle East violence erupted in 2000, Israel sent troops back into West Bank areas ceded to the Palestinian Arabs under interim peace accords. Troops set up dozens of roadblocks and cut off cities and towns, often confining hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs to their home communities.

Palestinian Arabs have had only one general election, in 1996. Elections have been scheduled several times in recent years but then canceled, as Palestinian Arabs said they could not carry out a campaign with the Israelis in control of the territory.

Now, Israel appears ready to cooperate.

Israel has explained its security measures, which have contributed to the disruption of the Palestinian economy and widespread poverty, by pointing to more than 100 Palestinian Arab suicide bombings in the past four years and the need to prevent further attacks.

However, Arafat’s death has softened the Israeli line and raised world expectations for a thaw.

Mr. Regev said the new Palestinian Arab leadership “could help us by coming down on the terrorists,” but he did not make that a condition for an Israeli withdrawal of troops.