Two Israeli policemen were lightly wounded Tuesday evening when shots were fired at their vehicle near the Israeli Aviezer settlement, south of the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, on the Israeli side of the Green Line border.
A large number of Israeli troops were in pursuit of the gunmen, and there was ongoing, sporadic gunfire in the area following the initial attack, Haaretz reported.
According to Israeli reports, the gunmen were from the West Bank village of Tzurif.
U.S.
Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush is "very hopeful" that special US envoy Anthony Zinni's mission to the Middle East will yield a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians, the White House said.
"General Zinni is on the ground and has made substantial progress," toward ending an 18-month-old cycle of violence, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters. "The president is very hopeful that, as a result of the Zinni mission, the chances for a ceasefire have been enhanced, the chances to begin security talks have been enhanced," said the spokesman.
Fleischer's comments came after US Vice President Dick Cheney left Israel, where he had stopped as part of a 10-day, 12-nation trip to shore up support for the US-led "war on terrorism," and after Zinni met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
"General Zinni is in the region for a purpose, and that is to meet with the responsible officials who speak for the parties and to meet directly with the parties," said Fleischer.
The Bush spokesman said Cheney -- who did not meet with the Palestinian leader -- may return to the Middle East, possibly as early as next week, "if Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority put in place General Zinni's plan to create a ceasefire."
"The president measures these matters in results. The president is very realistic. He's less interested in talk and more interested in results," said Fleischer.
Following a series of diplomatic meetings Tuesday by Cheney and Zinni, both Israel and the Palestinians were expressing some optimism on the chances for a cease-fire.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said at a press conference that a cease-fire would be declared sometime in the next two days, but added that the Palestinian Authority had not yet issued any order to stop attacks.
Palestinian security officials said a truce declaration could be made as early as Wednesday, following a joint security committee meeting that is to take place during the day, under American auspices.
Following Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's meeting with Zinni on Tuesday, Palestinian cabinet member Saeb Erekat said that he hopes that an agreement on a timetable for the implementation of the Tenet truce plan can be reached within 24 hours.
Arafat
Israel has imposed "unacceptable" conditions on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his attendance at the upcoming Arab summit, the Arab League and Egypt said Tuesday.
"What Israel wants is to impose restrictions on the capacity of president Arafat to express the aspirations of his people and that is unacceptable," League Secretary General Amr Mussa said.
"I don't think Arafat will accept such conditions which are anyway unacceptable for any Arab," Mussa said at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher. "Arafat must freely express the hopes of his people, their grievances and their claims," Mussa said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said earlier that Arafat would be free to leave the Palestinian territories only after a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Sharon coupled his offer to allow Arafat to travel with a warning that he could be barred from returning if he utters "incitements to violence" or "terrorist operations" are launched against Israel in his absence.
"I don't think there are legal grounds for the conditions that Sharon is trying to impose on Arafat to take part in the summit," Maher said for his part. "The Arab world has the right for the Palestinian president to be present and nobody can forbid his return to his country, Palestine," Maher conveyed.
Mussa also dubbed as "arrogant" the conditions US Vice President Dick Cheney put in place before he would meet with Arafat, reported AFP. "We think the US vice president, as his country is one of the sponsors of the peace process, must meet both the Israeli and Palestinian sides," Maher added.
Cheney said he would only meet Arafat when a Tenet truce deal was put into effect, possibly as soon as next week.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat denounced Sharon’s comments, saying, "Sharon cannot put an obstacle on the movement of Arafat and cannot dictate to us what we should say or not say." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
