Israel delays Palestinian truce talks

By Mark Lavie

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israel-Palestinian truce talks sought by the United States were again put off Monday after a Jewish woman was killed in a shooting attack in the West Bank.

Israel also took a step toward sealing itself off from Palestinian militants, closing off a swath of West Bank land, angering Palestinians and drawing criticism from the United Nations.

The United States wants truce talks to put a lid on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while it concentrates on building an anti-terror coalition in response to the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

But Israel again called off a meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres after the shooting death of the 28-year-old woman in the northern West Bank.

Secretary of State Colin Powell called Peres on Monday to urge him to meet Arafat, the State Department said in Washington.

The militant Islamic Jihad, which has long opposed any peace moves with Israel, took responsibility for the early morning shooting.

Israel blamed Arafat, charging that he is not enforcing the cease-fire he declared last week.

"The full responsibility for this murderous attack lies with (Arafat’s) Palestinian Authority," said Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Sharon has demanded 48 hours without any attacks before he approves the meeting. It was originally set for Sunday, but Sharon called it off at the last minute because of Palestinian mortar attacks in Gaza.

After boycotting Sunday’s Cabinet meeting over the cancellation, Peres reluctantly accepted the delay Monday, but observed, "Nothing could save lives or prevent damage like this meeting."

The delay is expected to be for several days. Arafat is scheduled to travel today to Damascus, Syria, a crucial visit marking a possible thaw in two decades of frosty relations with Syria.

Palestinian officials, requesting anonymity, said the meeting could take place after Arafat returns from Damascus, before the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur begins Wednesday at sundown.

Interviewed on CNN’s "Larry King Live" Monday, Peres said "upon his (Arafat’s) return from Syria, we shall meet."

Daniel Kurtzer, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said that when the meeting takes place "very, very soon, it will add some momentum to the effort to bring the violence down."

Palestinians say preliminary talks produced a plan for a cease-fire, and the Peres-Arafat meeting would put it into effect. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat charged, "Sharon wants to sabotage the whole process."

Another negotiator, Ahmed Qureia, said the Palestinians offered to meet Monday, but Israel refused.

Meanwhile, Israel made a unilateral move, declaring a strip of West Bank land along the Israeli border a closed military zone.

The strip, stretching southward from the town of Jenin, is about 18 miles long and several miles wide in some places, the military said.

Thousands of Palestinians live in the zone. They will need special passes to enter and leave, and friends and relatives will not be allowed to visit.

The Israelis say the zone is necessary to keep militant attackers out of Israel. Several suicide bombers entered Israel from Jenin.

Arafat called it "dangerous political and military escalation," and West Bank leader Marwan Barghouti warned the Israelis, "If you want to achieve peace and security, you have to withdraw from our land."

At the United Nations, spokesman Fred Eckhard said the announcement of the buffer zone was a "unilateral and provocative act, contrary to the signed agreements between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and it can only undermine ongoing efforts to find a way out of the present crisis."

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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