Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have reached an agreement to end seven days of violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel, an Israeli official said late Wednesday.
Under the deal, the Palestinians undertook not to allow protesters to approach three sensitive points at Ramallah, Nablus and Netzarim in the Gaza Strip, where there have been serious clashes, the official said.
The Israelis said they would withdraw heavy weaponry from the Netzarium junction and around the Jewish holy place of Joseph's tomb in Nablus, and promised to ensure that strict regulations were followed before security forces were authorized to open fire on protesters.
In addition, a security assessment would be carried out overnight by Israel and Palestinian officials in conjunction with the US Central Intelligence Agency, the official said.
The agreement was to be initialed Wednesday night in Paris, and probably signed at a meeting in the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Thursday.
"Israel is waiting for the violence to stop before signing the agreement fully in Egypt tomorrow (Thursday)," the Israeli official said.
A Palestinian demand for an international of enquiry on the violence had not been agreed on, he said -- PARIS (AFP)
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