Jerusalem ? Israeli officials, faced with an international outcry and a definitive ruling by the attorney general, acknowledged Sunday they couldn’t legally deport relatives of suicide bombers unless they were directly linked to attacks.

Also Sunday, a Palestinian official said Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told the Palestinians that Israeli troops could withdraw from two West Bank cities Bethlehem and Hebron in the coming days. Israeli officials denied the claim.

A bomb Sunday in central Israel did little damage to a passenger train. The engineer was wounded, but the train did not derail. In other developments Sunday, Israel said it would not deport relatives of suicide bombers to Gaza City, and there were reports that the occupations of Bethlehem and Hebron may be lifted this week.

On Friday, Israeli officials had said they were considering deportation to the Gaza Strip for 21 people arrested in West Bank raids who were relatives of suspects in attacks last week that killed 12 Israeli residents.

The threat generated international condemnation and cries of collective punishment from the Palestinians.

Amnesty International and Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups said the proposal was a violation of international law. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said “self-defense cannot justify measures that amount to collective punishments.”

Even the United States warned against deporting anyone based solely on their family relations.

On Sunday, Atty. Gen. Elyakim Rubinstein’s office issued a statement, saying deportation could be considered only for people “directly involved” in attacks.

Still, the 21 family members arrested Friday were being investigated to see if any fit Rubinstein’s criteria for deportation.

The relatives had petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to block any deportation. However, they withdrew the petition Sunday after the court said it could not rule unless the government ordered a deportation.

The proposal for more blanket and punitive deportations had generated some support in Israel.

“The expulsions of terrorists and their families is one of the most severe punishments we can give and it will deter the terrorists significantly,” Maj. Gen. Yom-Tov Samia, former head of the army’s southern command, told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

Deportation is sensitive for Palestinians, whose close-knit family relations dictate much of their everyday lives. Deportation to Gaza from West Bank villages where their extended families live would remove much of their social, emotional and economic support systems.