US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East affairs William Burns will meet late Monday with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Meanwhile, Israeli troops shelled PA areas in Gaza, injuring several Palestinians.
Political sources in Jerusalem said that in Burn's meeting Sunday with the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and Foreign Minister, he expressed optimism and said that in his meeting with Arafat he noticed positive signs that Arafat would be willing to resume security coordination talks with Israel, said Haaretz newspaper.
During Sunday's meeting with Arafat, Burns condemned the car bombings in Jerusalem on Saturday night and Sunday morning and told reporters he had urged Arafat during a two-hour meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah to do everything possible to stop such attacks.
After Sunday's talks, Israel's Channel Two TV reported the two sides had agreed to resume meetings between security officials which had been effectively suspended for months.
However, the Palestinian security chief in Gaza, Maj. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaydeh told Haaretz Monday that the Palestinians had no information about any meeting.
"There is no such preparation for any meeting with the Israeli side," he said.
ISRAELI TROOPS SHELL PA AREAS IN GAZA, SEVERAL PALESTINIANS INJURED
Israeli troops on Monday shelled PA controlled areas in the Gaza Strip, and several Palestinians were injured as Israeli soldiers opened their fire randomly on civilians, reported the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
It said that Israeli tanks shelled Rafah town, injuring several, including a seven-year-old boy.
The boy was identified as Mohammed Abu Samhadaneh, said WAFA, adding that he was injured by a live rubber bullet in his leg.
The agency added that several houses were damaged in the attack.
In Jenin, the agency said that Israeli tanks shelled the village of Zabouba following a bomb explosion near an Israeli army vehicle.
Al Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack which left no injuries, said the official Kuwait news agency (KUNA).
MUBARAK: SHARON MISLEADING WORLD WITH FAKE CEASE-FIRE
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in comments published Monday that Israel was deceiving the international community with false claims of a unilateral cease-fire in fighting with Palestinians, reported Reuters.
"The truth is Israeli shelling of Palestinian land and infrastructure has not stopped. This is deception of international public opinion," Mubarak was quoted by the state-owned daily Al Ahram as saying.
Israel said last week that its soldiers facing rebelling Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would only shoot if there was a threat to life.
Israel has violated the cease-fire call 96 times since the announcement, Majaydeh was quoted by a Palestinian newspaper, al-Hayat al-Jadidah, as saying Monday.
"[Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon is trying to lure Arab countries into a war and this is very dangerous," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher was quoted as saying by Egypt's official Middle East News Agency on Monday.
Arab officials have voiced concern that Sharon has no intention of easing tension and that he is itching for a wider conflict with Syria and Lebanon.
Sharon has said the cease-fire will remain intact despite two car bombings and a suicide bomb attack in the past few days, in which dozens of Israelis were injured.
SHARON TO MEET SCHROEDER IN GERMANY
Sharon will visit Berlin next week for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a German government spokesman said Monday.
Sharon's visit was set for June 4-6. Uwe-Karsten Heye, Schroeder's spokesman, said a meeting with the chancellor is planned but gave no further details of Sharon's program, according to The Associated Press.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met Schroeder and his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, during a visit to Berlin this month.
Germany has said it will work with its European Union partners to contribute to renewing an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue - Albawaba.com
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