'Serious' Mideast peace talks to continue in Israel

Gaza bomb blasts reported

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Shrines not under discussion

No predictions

Gaps wide, atmosphere friendly

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TABA, Egypt (CNN) -- Forging ahead in talks on key issues, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators moved talks, just for Monday night, to Eilat, on the southern tip of Israel.

More violence, however, sprang up in Gaza, where two explosions were reported.

Despite the violence, both sides put aside much of the acrimony that has marked Israeli-Palestinian relations in recent months. The talks that started Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Taba were described by both sides as "serious" but "exceptionally difficult."

The current round of talks could last as long as 10 days, negotiators said. Participants broke into three groups on Monday, one for each of three thorny issues that have prevented a Mideast peace agreement since the U.S.-led summit last July in Camp David, Maryland.

Panels were formed to discuss security, the return of Palestinian refugees, and land issues, including the future of Jerusalem.

The delegations are led by Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami and Palestinian legislative Speaker Ahmed Qorei. The two met for more than two hours Sunday.

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Mideast Peace

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Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:
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• Activist deaths

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Key issues: U.S., Israeli and Palestinian views

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Qorei was in touch on Monday with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat while Ben-Ami was said to be in contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

The talks are being held as nearly four months of Israeli-Palestinian violence continues.

Earlier Monday, an Israeli army tracker was wounded when a roadside bomb went off in Gaza. Israel responded by closing the main north-south road. The Islamic group Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack and distributed videotape of it to reporters.

Despite the blast, Israel eased its blockade of the Palestinian territories, allowing 16,000 Palestinian workers to return to jobs in Israel.

A second explosion was reported later near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim in northern Gaza, according to Palestinian security officials. Heavy Israeli gunfire was also reported in the area. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for that second explosion, and there was no word on injuries.

Israeli negotiators are working as a February 6 election for prime minister approaches. Many Israelis see the election as a mandate for future dealings with the Palestinian Authority.

Shrines not under discussion

One issue said not to be under discussion Monday was sovereignty over shrines in Jerusalem that are holy to both Israelis and Palestinians -- called Temple Mount by Jews and Noble Sanctuary by Muslims.

The Palestinian Authority is calling for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. Barak has said his government will never give up control of Jerusalem and would never allow Palestinian refugees and their offspring to return to homes in what is now Israel. The refugees left during past wars over the territory.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, more than 3.7 million Palestinians -- the refugees and their descendants -- were registered as of June 30, 2000 with the agency in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.

"Israel has started to accept the reality that we are looking towards the future, not to the past," said Hani El Hassan, a Palestinian Authority official. "For the past, no one will reach any agreement. So the West Bank and the Arab areas of Jerusalem should be under Palestinian sovereignty."

No predictions

Negotiators were discussing the talks in only the blandest terms, and no one was willing to make predictions. The Palestinians said they are still hoping for a comprehensive agreement, but the Israelis indicated they would be pleased with any progress on the thorny issues.

"I can say that there are very serious discussions," Qorei said. "All issues that represent the keys of the agreement were in discussions. There are committees, there is a committee for territory and Jerusalem and security and other committee for refugees. There is still a gap, but we are working very seriously, trying to see whether it's possible."

Israelis agreed. "We are talking seriously," said Yossi Beilin, Israeli justice minister.

Gaps wide, atmosphere friendly

A photograph from one session showed Qorei and three Israeli officials sitting in a circle in comfortable chairs, all without neckties and laughing. Pens, notebooks and a few apples sat on a table in the middle.

After morning talks at a hotel in the Red Sea resort, both sides said the gaps remained wide. At midday, the three teams broke for lunch, but much as they did during the Camp David summit, negotiators from both sides were seen eating lunch together before resuming talks.

Ben-Ami said that in the unlikely event an accord was reached before Israel's February 6 election, it would only be signed after the vote. Ben-Ami was responding to criticism by Barak's hard-line rival, Likud opposition leader Ariel Sharon, who said the government did not have the moral authority to make concessions to the Palestinians so close to the elections.

Barak is trailing Sharon in opinion polls by more than 20 percentage points.

According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, 342 Palestinians have died in the fighting since September 29. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the violence has resulted in the deaths of 45 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs.

CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.