Israeli and Palestinian security officials met Saturday afternoon in Ramallah for talks on ways to reduce the current violence, Israel Radio reported, cited by The Jerusalem Post.
Palestinian sources were quoted as saying the meeting could serve as a breakthrough for renewing security coordination between the two sides.
Israel has conditioned the renewal of such cooperation on the cessation of violence by the Palestinians.
Head of the Palestinian preventive security in the West Bank, Jibril Rjoub was earlier quoted by Haaretz newspaper as telling Palestine Radio that the focus of talks will be finding ways to "end Israel's aggression against the Palestinians.”
He added that the promises Israel made on easing the closures must still be tested in reality.
On Friday, Palestinian security officials met with senior Israeli military officers near the West Bank town of Ramallah to study ways to reduce the violence and to ease the blockade on the Palestinian territories, but nothing was achieved during the meeting.
However, the parties agreed to hold two follow-up meetings on Sunday, one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip, said reports.
Shortly after the meeting ended, Palestinians said shots were fired in Ramallah and soldiers responded by firing anti-tank missiles at the offices of the Palestinian Authority. Three Palestinians were wounded, according to witnesses quoted by the Associated Press.
The Israeli army reported shots fired from a building at soldiers at the Ayosh junction north of Ramallah and return fire directed at the building. No casualties were reported.
In a related development, mainstream Palestinian Fateh movement claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on the Netzer Hazani settlement in the Gaza Strip.
At least five Jewish settlers were injured when mortar rounds hit the Jewish settlement of Netzer Hazani in the southern Gaza Strip, said reports.
The injured were transferred to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva for treatment, said Haaretz.
Five of the injured are reported to be in light to moderate condition, while an 18-year-old youth is in a serious condition, said the paper.
Fateh also claimed Saturday responsibility for overnight mortar attacks on two Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, said AFP.
This is the first time since the Palestinian uprising erupted seven months ago that Fateh has claimed a mortar attack on Israeli targets.
Mortar rounds struck the Jewish settlements of Kfar Darom and Nitsanit overnight without causing any casualties or property damage, said Haaretz.
One of the shells exploded on the outskirts of Nitsanit, in the north of the Strip, and the army fired back,.
Two other rounds hit Kfar Darom, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Fateh said in a statement received by AFP in Gaza City that its commandos had "pounded enemy settlements in the south of the Gaza (Strip) in response to the odious crime that killed four of our heroes in Rafah."
The statement did not make any reference to the attack on Nitsanit.
Four Palestinians, including three Fateh members, died Wednesday night in an explosion the Palestinians blamed on the Israeli army, which has denied any knowledge of the incident.
Fateh vowed to avenge what it called assassinations, and Saturday's statement said the mortar attacks were the "first in a series of responses to Israeli aggression.”
It said Fateh "could not remain silent in the face of Zionist crimes even if it had accepted the instructions of the leadership not to fire" at Israeli targets.
That was a reference to an order issued last week by Arafat for an end to mortar attacks on Israeli territory and on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip
PALESTINIANS ACCUSE ISRAEL OF 'AGGRESSIVE ESCALATION'
Israel is pursuing an "aggressive military escalation", the Palestinian leadership charged Saturday after a late night meeting chaired by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, said AFP.
"The Israeli government has not changed policy on the ground; on the contrary, it is pursuing an aggressive military escalation," a leadership communiqué carried by the official WAFA news agency said.
"The statements of Israel about appeasement and easing of the closure by Israel are only attempts to mask the continued aggression on the ground," the communiqué said.
The Palestinians also accused Israel of attending security meetings for the third week running without readiness to act to change the situation.
"At each meeting, the Israeli side says it is ready to undertake measures while, on the ground, the closure is more and more suffocating and the murders ... the bombings against Palestinian civilians go on," they charged.
PA REJECTS ANY CHANGES TO EGYPTIAN-JORDANIAN INITIATIVE
Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said Saturday that the Palestinian Authority would reject any changes made to the joint Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative.
Israel Radio, cited by Haaretz, reported that in an interview given to Palestine Radio, Abed Rabbo said Israel's agreement to even discuss the initiative was intended to portray its flexibility in light of international pressure.
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met to put the final touches to Israel's questions about the peace plan that Peres is to take to Cairo and Amman on Sunday, said AFP and Haaretz.
The plan calls for confidence-building measures, including a halt to Israel's settlement activities, leading to a resumption of negotiations for a final peace settlement within a year, based on "progress" so far.
In the meantime, Israel must end its crippling blockade on the territories and withdraw its troops to their positions before the outbreak of the violence in late September.
In return, the Palestinians would guarantee a renewal of security cooperation.
Peres is expected to meet President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II.
He is also to hold talks with US officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and, possibly, President George W. Bush, on May 4 and 5, said AFP.
Sharon said that Israel's priority was "the end of terrorism and violence.
"The talks which will take place in Egypt and Jordan will be aimed at putting an end to terrorism and violence, which would clear the way for a resumption of negotiations", Sharon's office said in a statement, cited by the paper.
"When the foreign minister returns, we will reevaluate the situation", Sharon said.
Members of Sharon's government expressed different views on the mission.
Telecommunications Minister Reuven Rivin, from Sharon's Likud party, described it as "tactical," and he told AFP he had no hope of the plan's success.
Extreme-right Transport Minister Rehavam Zeevi, speaking on public radio, rejected it totally, said the paper.
Quoting high-ranking Israeli officials, military radio said Sharon was seeking to obtain changes to points in the plan that stipulate a halt to all settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.
Sharon has said that he did not want to create new settlements, but hopes that existing ones can continue to expand to meet population growth.
Moreover, Sharon does not want a deadline to be decided in advance for reaching an agreement on the final status of the Palestinian territories, radio added. He has often said he would favor "long-term" interim agreements.
In Washington, Powell said Thursday the peace proposal might produce results but that he was not "hyperventilating" with anticipation.
HUSSEINI OFF TO US NEXT WEEK
According to Haaretz, PA Jerusalem Affairs Minister Faisal Husseini is scheduled to visit Washington in the coming week, and will meet with various US officials there.
He will be the first senior Palestinian official to meet with the Bush administration since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was elected on February 6th, Israel Radio reported Saturday.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization ambassador in Washington said that Husseini might also meet with Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Edward Walker, but that it was not confirmed yet - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
