 |
7 Killed as Ceasefire Fails to End Bloodshed in Territories
Seven people were killed Tuesday as violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians ran into the sixth day, devastating a cease-fire reached between the two sides overnight.
The latest casualties brought the death toll to 63 in the worst riots sweeping through Jerusalem and the occupied territories in at least four years in six consecutive days.
Four Palestinians died in fierce clashes with Israeli forces at the Gaza flashpoint of Netzarim, where most of the fighting has been concentrated, while three died in separate incidents in the West Bank.
The seventh man was an Israeli Arab who was shot dead by police during clashes in the village of Kfar Manda in the Galilee.
Later Tuesday, fierce gun battles flared between Israeli and the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip smashed the ceasefire and undermined hopes for talks between the two sides to end the bloodshed.
The clashes were triggered by right-wing Israeli opposition party leader Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to the contested religious site that Muslim call the Noble Sanctuary and Jews refer to as the Temple Mount.
The sovereignty over the site, which hosts the holiest Muslim and Jewish places, such as the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock and the relics of the former Jewish Temples, has been the deal-breaker between Israel and the Palestinians.
In another development, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office, announced early Tuesday morning that following an American initiative, Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will meet in Paris Wednesday with the participation of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is now in Paris.
Arafat has left Gaza for Paris to attend the summit, which is an attempt to end the cycle of violence in the past few days and renew the peace process, which has been deadlocked since the July Camp David summit failed to reach a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
Barak's office in Jerusalem said the prime minister is to leave for Paris Wednesday morning.
A senior Israeli army officer said Tuesday evening that according to the army's assessment, there will be no end of clashes between Israel and the Palestinians until the scheduled summit between their leaders on Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that he has invited Arafat and Barak to a summit in Sharm el Sheikh, where the two leaders signed their first accord last September, to help seek a final peace settlement.
Mubarak said that Arafat and Barak welcomed his invitation. Barak's Official said in a release that the three leaders will meet in Egypt on Thursday.
Mubarak also said that Egypt is prepared to host an Arab summit now and immediately to deal with the Palestinian-Israeli bloody clashes and other key issues facing the Arab world.
In This Section
|