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Settlers' attacks the backdrop to Israeli, Palestinian meeting
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Top Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators completed a meeting on Tuesday in which they had been expected to address the wave of attacks by Jewish settlers retaliating for the death of a settler. These were the third round of talks in five days attempting to bridge seemingly intransigent gaps between the two sides and curb five decades of bloody conflict in the Middle East. Palestinian officials said the attacks, which began on Monday when dozens of settlers rampaged through Palestinian territories burning homes, fields and greenhouses, continued on Tuesday.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said before Tuesday's talks that the Palestinians intended to add the violence to the agenda, along with Israel's closure of Gaza after settler Roni Tsalah, from the Jewish settlement of Kfar Yam, was found shot to death on Sunday. "We will strongly address the issue of settlers' attacks on Palestinian citizens ... as well as the closures," Erakat had said. Israeli police spokesman Yossi Koppel, however, told The Associated Press that he was unaware of violence on Tuesday near Kfar Yam, on the border with Egypt in Gaza. Israeli police said they had arrested two settlers on suspicion of arson related to Monday's rampage, and Koppel said several dozen people could be arrested. Barak to convene peace cabinetIsraeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qureia led delegations to the early meeting on Tuesday at an undisclosed Jerusalem location. Israeli and Palestinian security officials were to meet later Tuesday at Erez Crossing in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was also expected to convene his peace cabinet, a small group of ministers who meet for special briefings on the peace negotiations. Barak hopes for enough progress in the staggering peace process to ensure his re-election in a national vote for his post on February 6 -- an election he called in December when he abruptly resigned to pre-empt a Knesset attempt to force new elections for parliament. But so far, his challenger -- hard-line Likud party chairman Ariel Sharon -- holds a commanding lead, based in part on Barak's handling of the last 15 weeks of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Since September 28, at least 394 people have been killed. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says that 339 of the dead were Palestinians, and the Israel Defense Forces says that 44 were Israeli Jews and 13 were Israeli Arabs. Election campaign gets into swingBut Sharon has also opposed a plan advanced by U.S. President Bill Clinton to end 52 years of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians -- a plan accepted in principle by both Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. The plan envisions a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank; Palestinian sovereignty over holy sites in Jerusalem; and no right of return for 4 million Palestinians -- refugees and their descendants -- to homes in what is now Israel. But Barak has repeatedly said he would not give the Palestinians control over the disputed site in Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and as Haram al-Sharif to Muslims. And Arafat has declared the right of return for Palestinians who lost their homes when Israel declared independence in 1948 a non-negotiable point. Sharon, however, contends that Barak is making too many concessions to the Palestinians -- and that the only concession he would make is to promise not to retake Gaza and West Bank towns already returned to Palestinian sovereignty. The campaign launched in earnest on Tuesday with the first commercials backing the candidates to reach Israeli airwaves. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Hopes fade for Mideast agreement before Clinton leaves White House RELATED SITES: Miftah : The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:
