An Israeli man was killed and his three children were wounded in a shooting attack Monday evening in the West Bank city of Hebron. One of the children was in serious condition and the other two were moderately wounded.
The family, from Jerusalem, had travelled to Hebron to participate in a Jewish festival. Following the attack, Israeli soldiers entered Palestinian-controlled areas of the city.
Siege
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rejected Israel's terms for ending its siege of his headquarters after the two sides held their first contacts on the standoff, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Monday.
"We and President Arafat reject all Israeli conditions," Erakat told AFP after briefing Arafat on his meeting earlier with army officers at Israel's Beit El base outside Ramallah. "The Israeli side asked us to take the names of the people in Moqata (i.e. Arafat's compound)," he aired.
"We reject this question from the Israeli side," Erakat conveyed.
Israeli radio said earlier that the government had called for a complete list of all those inside the building with Arafat. "We asked the Israeli side in this meeting (at Beit El) to stop the aggression and the siege immediately and withdraw from Arafat's offices," Erakat told AFP. "This meeting ended without any result. It failed."
Also on Monday, the Israeli leadership turned down a request by European envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos to meet with Arafat. "Moratinos' demand was rejected by the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," an Israeli foreign ministry official said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
