Israeli soldiers killed Tuesday night three Palestinians in Gaza Strip. According to the army, the three were armed and tried to approach the Jewish settlement of Netzarim.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held two rounds of talks without a breakthrough to end the three-week standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, a Palestinian official said.
The two sides agreed to meet again Wednesday afternoon in a bid to resolve the tense confrontation between the Israeli army and Palestinian fighters holed up in the church, chief Palestinian negotiator Salah al-Taamari said.
"The Israelis insist on exiling (the Palestinian fighters) and we refuse to accept this demand," the negotiator told AFP after the second meeting of the day that lasted nearly three hours.
"We still have to bridge the gap," he said, adding that the Israeli side has so far failed to present a list of suspected activists who are holed up in the church and whom it would like to put on trial. But Taamari added: "We have not reached a dead end yet."
He said the activists inside the compound agreed to release four civilians from the church for medical treatment, and requested the Israelis supply food and water for the occupants of the church -- a request the Israel quickly rejected.
Earlier it was reported that Israeli troops laying siege to Yasser Arafat's Ramallah offices set off an explosion in a prison inside the Palestinian leader's compound, the Palestinian leadership said.
"At 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) the Israeli occupation army set off a very powerful explosion inside the prison," a statement from the leadership said. "Earlier in the afternoon they destroyed the building of Yasser Arafat's Force 17 guards, also with explosives," it added.
A powerful explosion was heard in a building next door to the besieged headquarters Tuesday evening, officials inside the Palestinian leader's office told AFP.
In a related development, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he was "concerned" about the possible outcome of a UN fact-finding mission to the Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin, largely destroyed in an Israeli assault.
"I am concerned by what the final report could consist of, but we consider the arrival of the mission a lesser evil," a parliamentary official quoted Sharon as saying during a meeting of parliament's defense and foreign affairs committee. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
