HEBRON, West Bank – Palestinian Arab terrorists shot and wounded two Israeli border policemen yesterday in an attack on a military post near a West Bank shrine, the latest attempt to disrupt a delicate cease-fire.

Prime Minister Sharon, reacting to the attack, said Jews would continue to live and pray in Hebron, endorsing the settler presence in the tense city.

Despite the violence, both sides reported progress on transferring West Bank cities to Palestinian Arab security control after weeks of deadlock over whether Israel would remove army roadblocks outside the towns. The Palestinian Arabs had insisted on the removal of the roadblocks, which have severely disrupted life in the West Bank during more than four years of fighting.

The town of Tulkarem was to be transferred today, with the army removing a road barrier that separated Tulkarem from the West Bank’s largest city, Nablus, Palestinian Arab security officials said. However, the main army checkpoint outside Tulkarem will remain in place, the officials said.

Israeli army officials said the tentative agreement still requires government approval.

The Israeli defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, and Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas were to meet today to discuss the handover of West Bank towns, the highest-level negotiations on the issue.

Yesterday’s shooting happened in Hebron at a checkpoint guarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a shrine revered by Muslims and Jews. The army said the shots came from downtown Hebron. One border policeman was seriously wounded.

Soldiers imposed a curfew in the old city of Hebron, rounded up about 100 people for questioning and conducted house-to-house searches, Palestinian Arab officials said. Israeli military officials said the army had closed off certain areas.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Sharon said the Hebron incident was an “attempt to attack Jewish freedom of religion at one of the Jewish people’s holiest sites.”

He added, “Jews will continue to pray at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and to live there.”

About 500 Jewish settlers live in three enclaves in the middle of Hebron, the only West Bank city divided into Israeli and Palestinian-controlled zones. Clashes between the two sides are frequent.

Fighting has dropped sharply since Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas declared an end to violence at a February 8 summit in Egypt.

But sporadic violence has persisted. A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber killed five Israelis outside a Tel Aviv nightclub on February 25. The assailant, dispatched by the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, came from a village near Tulkarem.

While failing to scuttle the truce, the suicide bombing prompted Israel to freeze plans to turn over security control in the West Bank towns.

Israeli and Palestinian Arab commanders met Sunday to discuss the transfer for the first time since the suicide bombing.

The governor of Tulkarem, Izzedine al-Sharif, said Israel agreed to remove a gate that had closed the road between Tulkarem and Nablus.

However, Israel will keep a large roadblock south of the town in place. After the pullback, some 2,500 Palestinian Arab police would deploy in town, he said.