Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat spoke on the telephone Thursday about the situation in the Palestinian territories following an agreement reached overnight to end the violence, an official in Barak's office told AFP.
"The two leaders updated each other about developments on the ground half an hour before they were scheduled to give public statements about ending the violence," the official said.
The two sides are due to issue identical statements simultaneously at 5 p.m. (3:00 GMT) formally announcing the truce after five weeks of clashes that have left more than 171 people dead -- JERUSALEM (AFP)
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