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Crisis in the Middle East: Diplomatic Efforts Continue

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: As the Jewish Sabbath begins in Israel, there is talk of a summit, but little evidence of a lasting peace. There were gun battles in several West Bank towns, including Ramallah, the focal point of yesterday's violence.

At an Israeli checkpoint near Ramallah, Israeli tanks fired at a small building that may have housed snipers.

CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Mike Hanna joins us with the latest -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Natalie, diplomatic efforts well under way to get the leaders together to talk face to face at a summit meeting -- the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan due to hold talks with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. And in Gaza City in the course of this evening, Mr. Annan saying that a weekend summit is likely. He says that a final word is being awaited from Mr. Arafat.

Well, while these diplomatic efforts continue, so too did the violence. There was several sporadic clashes in various parts of the West Bank in the town of Hebron. At least one Palestinian youth was killed. A 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in the town of Ramallah: the confrontation once again between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces, this a confrontation that has been going on in this particular point for the past two weeks.

Figures released by the West Bank hospitals indicate that more than 90 Palestinians have been injured on this day, this together with the one confirmed Palestinian fatality, shot by Israeli fire -- the death toll now well over 100 -- all but eight of these either Palestinian or Arab-Israelis. But despite these figures of casualties that we've received, still a day of calm, relative to what we've seen before.

There has been a general reduction, it appears, in the intensity of the conflict. But from the Israeli army: a very strong warning, a warning that with the release of several prisoners by the Palestinian Authority, then there's an increasing likelihood of attacks in Israel against civilian targets.

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MAJ. GEN. GIORA EILAND, DIR., ISRAELI ARMY OPERATIONS: We anticipate a very dangerous terrorist activities that will not be involved only in shooting here and there, but in some more dramatic attempts to demolish buildings, to attack bus stops, and place where people are crowd. And this is something that is terribly dangerous. And, unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority doesn't understand -- or doesn't want to understand -- that something like this is dramatically different from what we have experienced so far.

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HANNA: This a very strong warning from the Israeli Defense Force, but meanwhile, all eyes on the diplomatic efforts that are now under way. The end result of these efforts by various mediators, by the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, by the U.S. president, Bill Clinton, by several European leaders, the end result of this intended to be a face-to-face meeting between Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak.

Such a meeting, believes the mediators, the first and most important point in beginning the process of creating a cessation of hostilities -- Natalie.

ALLEN: And, Mike, does it sound like that that meeting could take place, whether or whether not this fighting ends?

HANNA: Well, from the public positions of each of the leaders, "no" is the answer. Each leader has said that unless the violence ends or diminishes, there can be no face-to-face talks -- so the level of violence on the ground a critical factor in the bringing the leaders together.

It is a bit of a catch-22 situation here, is that the leaders say they will not meet until the violence ends, while intermediaries say the violence will not end until the leaders meet. But somewhere, compromise is going to have to be made if a meeting is going to take place. And it's going to be up to the leaders and the intermediaries to agree at what level the reduction of violence is such that it will lead to a meeting between the leaders yielding some kind of result.

Nobody, as has been said repeatedly on this day, wants yet another photo opportunity. What the intermediaries, the U.S., and the U.N., and European leaders want is a real result out of this meeting, and most importantly, it would appear, a public denunciation of the violence on all sides by both Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, Natalie.

ALLEN: CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief, Mike Hanna.

LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: And, as Mike Hanna indicated, U.S. officials continue their efforts to defuse this crisis. The White House staff discussed several contingencies this morning, including, again, the possibility of a weekend summit.

CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett joins us now from the White House with more about all of this -- Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Lou. Well, the president of the United States is due this afternoon to make several phone calls to leaders throughout the Middle East: on that call list expected to be phone calls to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and quite possibly, the U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan.

And there is tremendous speculation about whether or not a summit will occur. I can tell you that, officially, White House officials are not nearly as optimistic as the secretary-general has been there in the region. Their assessment right now is that a lot more things have to fall in place before a summit can actually be convened: one senior administration official telling CNN that both sides have a profound sense of grievance against one another. And there is a very wide gap in trust.

What the U.S. will try to do this afternoon -- the president will try to do in his various telephone calls -- is encourage the Palestinians and the Israelis to drop as many of the preconditions as they possibly can for a summit to be convened. Generally speaking, those preconditions are: a call for the end of violence and a commitment from both sides to restart the peace process at a date certain in the future, and also to agree upon a framework for what those peace talks will discuss.

What the president will try to persuade both to do is to come to the negotiating table without the preconditions. His belief -- and the U.S. officials' belief is that only then can there be a rational discussion about ending the violence and restarting the peace process. Those phone calls will continue this afternoon. The president will continue to work on it, but at this moment -- at least for now -- U.S. officials not nearly as optimistic about convening of a summit as Mr. Annan has been in the region -- Lou.

WATERS: This talk of a commission, the fact-finders, to study the current violence, how it started, what it's all about: Is that still considered a precondition by some parties in all of this?

GARRETT: In conversations that we have had with senior administration officials this morning, that has not been on the list of preconditions. It is clearly part of the debate. Clearly, the Palestinians feel a sense that there should be an international investigation to find out why the violence started, if excessive force was used against Palestinians by the Israeli government.

And the Israeli government has said it is open to such an international tribunal, so long as the United States sits at the top of it. That seems to be an issue that has, at least for the moment, been pushed to the side. The real nitty-gritty, it appears, behind the scenes, Lou, is just getting the two sides to agree that talking is better than not talking.

And if they can bring together -- and as Mike Hanna pointed out, the White House absolutely believes this summit must be substantive -- it cannot be a photo-op -- it cannot be something where all sides convene and leave with no resolution. U.S. officials only want the president to attend a summit if in fact the agenda is specifically designed to restart this peace process at a date certain, and that it is understood by both sides what issues will be on the table -- Lou.

WATERS: All right, Major Garrett at the White House.

And many Americans with ties to the Middle East are watching events with deep concern. A pro-Israeli rally began about an hour ago at Lafayette Park in the nation's capital, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. You may know where it is.

The rally was sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. A pro-Palestinian group is gathered nearby. Another pro- Palestinian demonstration was held in New York. About 1,000 people gathered today outside the Israeli Consulate in midtown Manhattan. Many New York mosques were closed so their members could attend.

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