JERUSALEM ÷ Israel and the Palestinians agreed yesterday to accept a U.S. proposal that would place six wanted men in a Palestinian jail under the watchful eyes of American and British guards ÷ a deal that would end the month-old Israeli siege of Yasser Arafatâs West Bank headquarters and enable the Palestinian leader to travel freely for the first time since December.

Israelâs Cabinet adopted President Bushâs proposal in a 17-9 vote. Senior Arafat aides said the Palestinian leader also accepted the plan, which ultimately would free him from the sights of Israeli snipers crouched in the buildings around him.

ãWe expect the siege imposed on President Arafatâs office to be lifted the day after tomorrow,ä said Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. The deal would allow Arafat to travel in the Palestinian territories or abroad.

Accepting the plan, according to an Israeli Cabinet minister, was important to avoid angering the United States over another Cabinet decision: Ministers decided to bar a U.N. fact-finding mission from investigating allegations surrounding Israeli army actions in a West Bank refugee camp.

After seven hours of Cabinet discussion, Communications Minister Reuven Rivlin briefed reporters, saying the United Nations had reneged on agreements with Israel. The teamâs composition and intentions, he said, made it inevitable that Israel would be unjustly blamed.

ãThis awful United Nations committee is out to get us and is likely to smear Israel and to force us to do things which Israel is not prepared even to hear about, such as interrogating soldiers and officers who took part in the fighting,ä he said. ãNo country in the world would agree to such a thing.ä

Until Bushâs compromise plan, Israel had said it would not allow Arafat out of his shell-shattered West Bank compound until it had custody of the six wanted men inside with him. Five of the six were wanted in connection with the October assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi. The sixth was accused of trafficking arms from Iran to the Palestinian territories.