JENIN, West Bank, May 3 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces began deploying to the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday for a law-and-order campaign meant to show the government is laying the ground for statehood.

Jeeps and buses carrying up to 500 security men left West Bank cities for Jenin in coordination with Israel. Another 150 men already in Jenin will also take part in the campaign, which Washington sees as a proving grounds for Abbas's forces.

The campaign will cover a total of 50 villages and is supposed to last three months, a senior Palestinian official said. He said the forces, some of whom receive U.S.-funded training in Jordan, would target criminals like car thieves, and had orders to confiscate illegal weapons.

Washington, whose efforts for a deal on a Palestinian state this year have shown little sign of progress, wants the Jenin campaign to go beyond crime-fighting to combat militant groups -- Israel's main condition for implementing a peace agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region on Saturday. (Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Jon Boyle)

AlertNet news is provided by