Three Palestinian youths were injured on Sunday in separate clashes with the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, said AFP.
Palestinian medical sources said they were all in a stable condition after being moderately wounded.
Earlier in the day, a Palestinian youth died of injuries he sustained two weeks ago during clashes with the Israeli army near Ramallah.
In another development, Israeli troops kidnapped six Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah, reported Haaretz newspaper, adding that four are members of the Palestinian presidential guards unit, Force 17.
The paper claimed that the arrested were involved in anti-Israeli terrorist attacks.
Ramallah is an “A” area, under full PNA control.
In Hebron, the Israeli army prevented tens of Jewish settlers from entering the Palestinian-controlled Abu Snaineh neighborhood following the funeral of a 10-month-old baby who was killed last Monday by Palestinian fire that also injured her father, a Jewish settler.
In Lebanon, AFP reported that some 6,000 people gathered at the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh on Sunday to call for support of the Palestinian Intifada against Israel and an end to sanctions against Iraq.
About 100 armed people staged a military parade during the rally, organized by Fateh movement.
In a rare event at a Palestinian refugee camp, the demonstrators held up portraits of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat next to those of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese and Iraqi counterparts, Emile Lahoud and Saddam Hussein.
Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected a proposal put forward by Egypt and Jordan aimed at halting the deadly tide of Israeli-Palestinian violence and resuming peace talks, reported Haaretz newspaper, quoting Israeli Radio.
The radio, quoting senior sources in Sharon's office, said the Palestinians had transmitted to Israel the proposal, which focuses on stopping violence, resuming security cooperation, implementing a third Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank and renewing talks for a final status agreement.
But Sharon has rejected the plan, viewing it as an "attempt to drag Israel into negotiations under fire," the radio said.
It said that senior Israel officials insist that negotiations will not be resumed until quiet is restored.
Israel will only agree to negotiate an interim agreement and talks on a final agreement are not under consideration, the radio quoted the senior officials as saying.
Palestinian President agreed on Saturday to the proposal, saying that "Palestinians are ready to accept an Egyptian-Jordanian mediation to implement October's Sharm el-Shiekh agreement and immediately return to negotiations," reported Haaretz newspaper.
Arafat's remarks, said the paper, came during a meeting in Ramallah with MKs Mohammed Barakeh, Tamar Goznsky and Issam Makhoul of the ultra-leftwing Hadash party.
Within the same context, Haaretz quoted Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres as calling on the Palestinian Authority to resume talks with Israel immediately on "ending the terrorism and violence" and later renewing the peace talks with no prior conditions.
"The Palestinians said that they will only conduct final status negotiations, and we want to talk about interim agreements. It will be a mistake not to hold negotiations," Peres was quoted as telling several ambassadors in Jerusalem on Friday.
"After the terrorism ceases we should begin negotiations," the paper quoted him as saying.
"We cannot fight fire with fire, and there is a need for water as well," Peres said.
Peres said that Arafat was a partner and not a target.
"Arafat erred when he rejected Clinton's offer and we expect that he say loud and clear that he will uphold his letter to [late prime minister] Yitzhak Rabin dated September 1993, in which he obligated himself to solve the dispute in a peaceful manner, taking steps against terrorism.
"Some of the shooting is carried out by members of Force 17 and Arafat needs to discipline Force 17 and the Tanzim. We expect a 100 percent effort."
"We have repeatedly announced that this government does not want to continue what is referred to as the Israeli occupation," Peres said – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
