Israel, Palestinians try to stem violence

Similar talks have been held several Times since clashes erupted on September 28, but a senior Israeli official said Wednesday’s meeting was the first in about two weeks.

The Army said the Chief of Israel’s central command, who oversees the military in the West Bank, also planned to meet his Palestinian counterpart.

"There is a U.S. Effort to calm the situation and this has brought about the willingness by the Palestinians to attend a meeting with us," said Major-General Giora Eiland, the Army’s Chief of operations.

The Army announced plans for the meetings after news that Clinton might meet Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak separately if a truce he brokered last week at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt finally takes effect.

Clinton appeals for less violence

Clinton called on Wednesday on Israel and the Palestinians to abide by the summit deal.

"I think the violence can be dramatically reduced. I think that there are probably some people within the Palestinian territories and probably some people within Israel that are not within total control of Chairman Arafat or even the Israeli government," Clinton said.

"But I do think Chairman Arafat can dramatically reduce the level of violence," he said.

P.J. Crowley, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said Clinton spoke by telephone with Arafat for 30 minutes on Tuesday. Another U.S. Official said Clinton also called Barak.

"The President raised the possibility of the leaders coming here to Washington," Crowley said, adding that Arafat and Barak would "come separately".

The meetings would be held "within the context of seeing progress on full implementation of Sharm", he said.

An Israeli diplomatic source said Barak had told Clinton by telephone that he would agree to a meeting only if Arafat took steps to curb the fighting.

Tensions ease

The Chief of staff of Barak’s office, Gilead Sher, said tensions seemed to have started to ease in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Israel would remove its forces from the outskirts of Palestinian towns if the trend continued.

"If it continues to be calm, and by the way, since last night there’s a feeling things have calmed down on the Palestinian side…we will do our part and withdraw our forces according to the Sharm understandings," he told Israel Radio.

At least 131 people, all but eight of them Arabs, have been killed in the violence.

Barak dispatched a top security aide to meet Arafat and Mohammed Dahlan, the preventive security Chief in Gaza, late on Tuesday to ask the Palestinian leader to halt the violence, an Israeli source said.

Arafat says he is not to blame for the clashes and that itis up to Israel to halt the bloodshed.

Barak says Door still open for dialogue

Barak, who is pushing to draw right-wing Likud party hawk Ariel Sharon into an emergency coalition, said any unity government would leave the door open to dialogue with the Palestinians provided hostilities ceased.

Palestinians and Left-wing Israelis say a Barak-Sharon partnership could end any chance of returning to peace talks.

"Israel’s emergency government, if it is formed, will always be ready to discuss a serious political agreement, in the case of course that the Palestinian side is ready," Barak told Russia’s Ekho Moskvy radio station.

"But peace will never be the result of violence, of forceful pressure," said Barak, who has called a time-out in peacemaking.

Barak also urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask Arafat to halt the fighting.

Interfax news agency reported that Russia was planning to send its special envoy on the Middle East peace process, Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Sredin, to visit several Arab countries next week.

A roadside bomb exploded near an Israeli Army convoy in thesouthern Gaza Strip on Wednesday and suspected Palestinian gunmen opened fire after the blast, causing no injuries, the Israeli Army said.

Thousands of Palestinians marched through the Gaza Strip toattend the funeral of a 16-year Palestinian who was killed on Tuesday in clashes with Israeli troops.