The US State Department on Wednesday condemned the incursion by Israeli soldiers into the autonomous Palestinian sector of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, saying such actions undermined peace efforts.
State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker likewise urged the Palestinian authorities to put an end to mortar attacks from areas under their control.
"Actions such as the Israeli incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas -- and that includes the incursion into Rafah today and the bulldozing of Palestinian buildings -- undermine efforts to defuse the situation and bring an end to the violence and escalation, Reeker was quoted by AFP as saying.
Israeli troops shot dead one Palestinian and wounded 10 others during exchanges of fire overnight inside the Rafah sector in the south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli soldiers had entered several meters (yards) into the sector backed by tanks and bulldozers, which razed 17 houses before withdrawing, a Palestinian security officials said.
The Israeli army said the operation was an "act of legitimate defence" after their soldiers came under grenade and gun attack Tuesday in the same area.
Reeker reiterated that the United States urged both sides to exercise restraint.
"We have also made very clear to the Palestinians that they must carry out their responsibility to break the cycle of violence as well, and prevent continued provocative acts of violence emanating from areas under their control," he said, according to the agency.
"That includes shootings, that includes bombings, mortar attacks."
Such attacks from the Palestinian side similarly undermined efforts to defuse the situation, he said.
The spokesman's reaction to the latest news from Gaza was more reserved than that of US Secretary of State Colin Powell on April 17. Powell had described that day's incursion into Gaza as an "excessive and disproportionate" response by the Israelis to Palestinian mortar fire against the Israeli town of Sderot.
Powell met Wednesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, whose visit to Washington is seen as a bid to energize US diplomatic muscle behind the latest moves to achieve a ceasefire.
In the meeting, Peres said that the situation in the Middle East was "worrying," as violence continued to jeopardize attempts to restart negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
"Right now the situation is worrying. There is no end to terror and violence, which overshadows the real need to start again negotiations," Peres told reporters following the hour-long meeting.
However, "Israel is determined to bring an end to terror and violence," Peres continued.
He said he favored a process of "face-to-face" negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in which Washington would have the role of "a facilitator, not a negotiator."
‘ATTACKS ON ISRAEL DONE WITHOUT ARAFAT’S KNOWLEDGE’
However, Peres was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as saying that attacks on Israel were undertaken without Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's knowledge.
Describing Arafat as a peace partner, Peres said Israel "will be ready to make painful compromises" once negotiations with the Palestinians are resumed. The phrase echoed former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's frequent references to territorial and other "concessions" he offered Arafat while saying they would be painful to the Israeli public, said the paper.
Taking a soft line, Peres said no new Jewish settlements would be built on the West Bank or in Gaza and that while Israel would open talks with a proposal for an extended interim accord, it would not rule out negotiating an overall agreement.
"We want to help the Palestinians," Peres said. "The stronger they will be, the better partner they will be."
Sharon's government has frequently blamed Arafat for deadly attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.
On Tuesday, Sharon held the Palestinian President responsible for the latest surge in violence, saying Arafat has complete control over events and is running terror groups.
"The prime minister holds the Palestinian Authority, which is not fighting terror and its infrastructure, responsible for the escalation in violence," his office said in a statement, cited by Haaretz.
The Palestinians retorted by blaming Israeli military occupation for the escalating situation.
PERES TO MEET BUSH THURSDAY
Peres is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush Thursday.
On the table is a Jordanian-Egyptian plan, under which each side would undertake confidence-building measures for a fixed period, before a resumption of substantive talks.
Sharon's government has indicated that it sees the plan as a useful starting-point but that it rejects key elements, including a demand for a halt to Israeli settlement-building, and insists on a total cessation of Palestinian attacks as a precondition for progress.
"We continue to value the constructive role in the region played by Jordan and Egypt," Reeker said, as quoted by the agency.
"We welcome their ongoing effort to help the parties stop the violence, restore peace and confidence, and create an environment for peace."
PERES TO HOLD TALKS WITH QATARI COUNTERPART
Peres said that he would meet in Washington with his Qatari counterpart, Sheik Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani.
"It won't be the first, it won't be the last," Peres said of the anticipated encounter, after meeting with Powell. But he did not specify when or where the encounter with the Qatari foreign minister would take place, said AFP.
"We hope that our relations will improve with time," Peres added.
Powell, who met with the Qatari foreign minister Wednesday, said he "was aware of the meeting," although he did not arrange it.
The Post quoted al-Thani as saying, after seeing Powell, that "the area has had enough problems" and that there was now an opportunity to get back to the peace track.
Qatar, which currently holds the Organization of the Islamic Conference presidency, does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.
In November, the Gulf state ordered the closing of Israel's trade office in Doha, bowing to Saudi demands ahead of the OIC's summit in Qatar.
At the time, a government spokesman said the closure of the office -- which was opened in 1996 -- reinforced Arab solidarity and "created the appropriate conditions for holding the ninth summit and for the success of its work."
Peres is scheduled to meet Thursday with US President George W. Bush.
SHARON SAYS JORDAN VALLEY WILL REMAIN IN ISRAELI HANDS ‘FOREVER’
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Wednesday that the Jordan Valley will remain in Israeli hands "foreover," because it is vital to the security of the country's eastern flank, public television reported, cited by AFP.
"There will never be a situation in which the Jordan Valley, a vital eastern security sector for Israel, will not be in the hands of Israel," he was quoted as saying.
"That region will be in the hands of Israel forever."
The valley is bordered on the east by the Jordan River and on the west by the Allon highway, named after the former Israeli foreign minister, Yigal Allon, who laid it out.
The road cuts along the West Bank from the Sea of Galilee in the north to Jericho in the south along the heights overlooking the river some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the border with Jordan and parallel to the Jerusalem-Ramallah-Nablus highway, some 12 kilometers (seven miles) to its west.
Any continued Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley would cut off an eventual Palestinian state formed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan.
Sovereignty over the valley is one of the things the Palestinians have sought in peace talks with Israel, but Sharon, and his predecessor, Ehud Barak, have been adamant about keeping it under Israeli control.
The television did not say where Sharon spoke, except to say that it was in a visit to the Jordan Valley shortly after the Israeli security cabinet met in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra.
Convening for the first time in the Occupied Territories, Israel's "security cabinet" met Wednesday in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, where on Tuesday a settler was killed in a Palestinian ambush.
Led by Sharon, nine of the 13 ministers who regularly attend the restricted cabinet sessions took part in the meeting, where they heard reports on security from Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz and other senior officers.
"Our aim is to achieve a return to security. That demands patience, perseverance and intransigence. But no political consideration is going to restrict our efforts to restore security," Sharon said before the meeting, according to the agency.
Assaf Hershkowitz, a 31-year-old settler, was killed early Tuesday when he was fired on by Palestinian assailants as he drove to work from his home in Ofra, north of the town of Ramallah.
PALESTINIAN CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN CLASH NEAR HEBRON
A Palestinian youth was critically wounded in clashes with Israeli troops Wednesday evening, The Jerusalem Post said, quoting Army Radio. The clashes were taking place near Halhul, north of Hebron.
ISRAELI TROOPS KILL PALESTINIAN YOUTH, INJURE 15 IN GAZA STRIP WEDNESDAY
Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian youth and wounded 15 others on Wednesday inside the autonomous Palestinian region of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Mahmoud Akel, 17, died after being shot in the chest during exchanges of fire between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers who had entered several meters inside the Rafah sector backed by two tanks and two bulldozers, which razed two houses before withdrawing, a Palestinian security official said, cited by AFP.
The incidents occurred after the Palestinians fired mortar shells at the Neve Dekalim Jewish settlement in the south of the Gaza Strip, without claiming any casualties.
According to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen exchanged heavy fire near Ramallah, but there were no injuries.
The paper added that mortar shells landed at the settlement of Morag in the Gaza Strip.
The paper also said that a Palestinian was reportedly killed by a masked gunman in the West Bank town of Qalqiliyah, after he was accused of collaborating with Israeli security forces.
In addition, three Israelis were injured in two shooting incidents while driving in the West Bank; two of the victims were Israeli Arabs, the paper said – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
