TEL AVIV, Israel -- With a planned Israeli pullout from more West Bank land one day away, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat held an unscheduled meeting Sunday but failed to end a dispute on what areas should be included in the handover, officials from both sides said.

The Palestinians demanded an immediate halt to construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, said a Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.The Palestinians say the areas Israel intended to hand over were too thinly inhabited and demanded areas with a larger Palestinian population.

Barak's spokesman Gadi Baltiansky said, "As far as Israel is concerned the (withdrawal) can take place tomorrow, but if the Palestinians are not ready it can be done later."

Israeli officers will be available with the maps at an army facility in Tel Aviv, and it was up to the Palestinians to decide whether to come or not, the Israeli army spokesman's office said.

The dispute came as the American envoy to the peace talks, Dennis Ross, headed to the region to meet with negotiators from both sides.

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Israeli officials insisted that the transfer did not require Palestinian agreement. The Palestinians said they rejected a unilateral pullout.

The withdrawal will be the second of three pullouts mandated by the Sharm el-Sheik agreement signed in September. By January, the Palestinians will have full or partial control of 39 percent of the West Bank.

Israel's chief negotiator, Oded Eran, said the Palestinian request would not be considered for this withdrawal.

"We can look at their request for the next (third) phase of redeployment," he said.

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