May 3 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces were being deployed to the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday in a law-and-order campaign meant to show that they are laying the groundwork for statehood.

Below are some facts about Jenin, where the deployment is expected to begin over the weekend:

* Jenin and its 80 surrounding villages are home to about 300,000 people in the northern tip of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Site of a major Israeli offensive in 2002, Israeli forces still conduct frequent raids into the area.

* A major Palestinian agricultural centre, Jenin's economy has been devastated by Israeli restrictions and its West Bank barrier, preventing tens of thousands of residents from crossing into nearby Israel to work.

* Compared to other parts of the West Bank, the Jenin area has few Jewish settlements and Israeli checkpoints, making it easier for Palestinian forces to move around if Israel would give them permission to do so.

* Washington wants Israel to give Abbas's forces freedom of movement in Jenin and the surrounding areas to respond to crimes and rein in militants.

* Jenin is a stronghold of Abbas's secular Fatah faction and security in the city has improved over the last six months since some Fatah militants began turning in their weapons as part of a government-sponsored amnesty programme coordinated with Israel.

* Militants from Fatah and Islamic Jihad are concentrated in the Jenin Refugee Camp, which Palestinian forces do not patrol, as well as Qabatiya village south of the city.

* Hundreds of Hamas Islamists were detained by Palestinian security forces in Jenin after the group's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June. Most were freed after turning in their weapons and pledging not to organise against Abbas's government.

For story click a related story, click on [ID:nL03384431] (Reporting by Adam Entous and Wael al-Ahmed; Editing by Sami Aboudi)

AlertNet news is provided by