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Israeli Minister Hopes Shooting Incident Not to Affect Peace Talks
Israeli Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said Friday that he hopes the shooting incident near the West Bank town of Kalkilya will not affect the ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians.
Two Israeli soldiers were shot by one of their Palestinian colleagues in a joint patrol team in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Friday morning, and one of the wounded later died in the hospital.
He was the second Israeli soldier died in the Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the last two days.
Ben-Ami, who also holds the acting Foreign Ministry portfolio and head the Israeli negotiation team with the Palestinians, said that he believed the bloody attack was an isolated case, and it did not signal the changing of Palestinian policy toward Israelis and the peace talks.
However, he urged the Palestinian National Authority to condemn the incident and punish those responsible, adding that the law and order are unseparated parts of the peace process.
Israeli Border Police Commander Yitzhak Dadon, who arrived at the scene, said that the incident is a very grave occurrence, "It cannot be that the incident occurred in Kalkilya, a town in which cooperation with the Palestinians on security issues is extremely high."
He added that he expects the IDF to suspend joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols, at least temporarily. Kalkilya, which is under Palestinian full control (Area A), has been closed to Israelis and a large number of Israeli troops are currently being brought to the area.
Palestinian security source said that they had arrested the suspect. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) also condemned the attack at such a critical time of the peace process.
Ben-Ami and his colleague negotiator Gilad Sher just returned from the United States on Friday morning, after laborious peace talks with their Palestinian counterparts and U.S. mediation team there. There were some reported progress, but gaps still divide between the two sides for them to reach a final peace deal.
On Thursday, an Israeli soldier died of wounds he sustained in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday night in the Gaza Strip, the first of such deadly cases in more than one year.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Thursday condemned the roadside bomb attack in Gaza. "The event was very serious," said Barak. "We will know how to find the assailants, wherever they are."
However, another bomb attack occurred Thursday evening in the same area in Gaza, but nobody was hurt this time.
Likud legislator Limor Livnat, a leading hawkish figure, urged Barak to suspend the talks with the Palestinians immediately following the two deadly attacks.
She also accused Arafat of "not abandoning terrorism."
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