Israel, Palestinians to Hold Security TalksIsrael and the Palestinians were to attend U.S.-mediated security talks on Tuesday in a sign that a new, enhanced American effort to end eight months of violence was making progress.Palestinian President Yasser Arafat agreed to send representatives to the U.S.-hosted meetings after a second round of talks on Monday with new U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns. The envoy later met Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Senior Israeli and Palestinians officials said a security meeting -- the first since late April -- would be held on Tuesday. An Israeli official said the meeting would be the first of two, with the second taking place on Wednesday. The two sides have held security talks from time to time since the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in September but they have failed to end the violence. Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, was trying to convince the sides to adopt the recommendations of an international committee, led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, that looked into the violence. Although the sides agreed to hold security talks on ending the fighting that erupted after peace talks stalled, the U.S. mediation efforts yielded no immediate breakthrough. In Washington, Richard Roth, acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, said the United States supported Israeli-Palestinian security talks. A senior Israeli official said Tuesday's meeting would deal with violence in the West Bank and Wednesday's would focus on Gaza Strip fighting. Israel occupied both areas -- which Palestinians want for a state -- in the 1967 Middle East war. |
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