Paris talks called to stop Mideast violence

World reacts with concern, condemnation

In this story: Security Council meets Annan appeals for end to violence Negotiating 'through the bullets' France condemns 'provocation' Calls for peace Calls for war RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Paris, France, on Wednesday in an effort to stop the fighting in the Middle East, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

The U.S. hopes the participants will be able to "find a way to end the violence, restore calm and ensure that there is no repeat of such an escalation," a senior State Department official said.

The official told CNN that Albright will hold separate meetings with Barak and Arafat and will see if a three-way meeting is "warranted and possible."

VIDEO CNN's Mike Hanna reports on the violent conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians (10-02-2000) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Mike Hanna reports on the continuing violence that has rocked Israel (10-02-2000) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO     RESOURCES Israeli-Palestinian deaths since intifada View chart     GALLERY   • Israeli-Palestinian clashes   • Scenes from the fighting Sunday   • Holy site violence   • Issues • Key Players • Maps • Timeline • Photo Gallery • Quiz • Key Documents • Overview • Related Sites • Video Archive • Message Board   AUDIO Shaath accuses Israel of excessive force 286 K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     TRANSCRIPT Read the transcript from Jerrold Kessel's online chat

"We are not ruling a three-way meeting out," the official said. "But there is no expectation that there will be one."

Security Council meets

The U.N. Security Council met in emergency closed consultations Monday to discuss the five straight days of fighting in Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza that has resulted in at least 40 deaths. The meeting came after a call for action by the Palestinian observer to the United Nations and at the request of Tunisia.

The council was drafting a consensus text to be adopted at a formal open meeting later Monday that condemns the violence and calls for both sides to use restraint and avoid future "provocative actions" that could inflame the situation.

The draft statement also condemns "excessive use of force," but diplomats said the United States was opposed to the language and was seeking to change it. It was unclear whether the dispute would block the nonbinding statement from being adopted altogether.

"The overwhelming majority of the council do support our request and do understand the gravity of the situation," said Palestinian representative Nasser Al-Kidwa before the meeting.

Al-Kidwa also called for an inquiry into the killings in the occupied territories. He called on the Security Council to intervene in the region's violence and protect Palestinian civilians in the Israeli-occupied territories.

In a letter to Namibian ambassador Martin Andjaba, who is serving as council president, Al-Kidwa accused Israeli soldiers of "committing willful killings" and using "excessive lethal force," mainly against Palestinian civilians.

Israel responded by claiming the disturbances were "an orchestrated, well prepared eruption of violence."

As night fell, Israeli troops used combat helicopters to put down firefights in the Gaza town of Netzarim, while Palestinian leaders called on international intervention to stop the killing.

"We demanded from the Israelis to move their forces outside the area of friction, at the entrances of our towns, villages and refugee camps -- to no avail," Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said in an interview with CNN.

As the fighting continued Monday, parts of Israel resembled a war zone as Israeli Arabs joined Palestinians in their battle against Israel's security forces.

In Netzarim, CNN Producer Pierre Klochendler reported the helicopters fired six to seven antitank missiles at two buildings overlooking a checkpoint leading to an Israeli settlement.

Annan appeals for end to violence

Arabs across the Middle East protested the killing of Palestinians by burning Israeli flags and chanting "Death to the Jews."

Amnesty International, meanwhile, accused Israel's security forces of using "indiscriminate" and excessive force against Palestinian protesters. "We have been saying for years that Israel is killing civilians unlawfully by firing at them during demonstrations and riots," the group said.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed to Barak and Arafat to do their utmost to end the worst clashes between Israelis and Palestinians since 1996.

"I've been in touch with the two leaders, and I appeal to them to do whatever they can to bring the situation under control and bring an end to the violence," Annan said.

Listen to Clinton talk about the Israeli-Palestinian violence .WAV | .AIFF

Meanwhile, U.S. President Bill Clinton bemoaned how the violence affects the peace process he has struggled to secure during his remaining months in office.

"In the short run, it's hurting them, because they can't do anything on the peace process until people stop dying and the violence stops," Clinton said. "But when the smoke clears here it might actually be a spur to both sides as a sober reminder to what the alternative to peace could be. So we have to hope and pray that will be the result."

Speaking at the White House, Clinton said he had been in "virtually constant contact" with Barak and Arafat. "I am convinced that they must do everything in their power to stop the violence," he said. "And I think they are now trying."

Regarding the Paris talks, the senior Department official told CNN that the meetings are expected to continue for "one or two days," and that the main issue on the agenda would be the recent escalation of violence, though the ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would "certainly be a backdrop."

"Israelis and Palestinians have cooperated in the past to achieve historic agreements as well as practical cooperation on the ground," Albright said Monday. "They must find a way again to end the current psychology of confrontation and begin to restore the psychology of peace-making. That is what we will be trying to achieve in these meetings."

Also Monday the State Department issued a travel warning that prohibits U.S. government employees from traveling to the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, while encouraging American citizens "to avoid those areas."

Negotiating 'through the bullets'

Albright says the violence is counter productive to the peace process in the Middle East .WAV | .AIFF

Erakat said he thinks Israel is attempting to negotiate by force. "I'm afraid that what the Israelis failed to get from us at the negotiating table -- they suspended the negotiations two weeks ago and now they are negotiating with us through the bullets, through the missiles, through the tanks. This will not work. I'm afraid if the international community does not move to send a commission of inquirers, independent, neutral inquirers -- this killing field will continue."

The violence erupted after Israel's hawkish opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a visit to a contested shrine in disputed east Jerusalem. The shrine is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Al Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary.

Israeli Defense Minister Ephram Sneh criticized the Sharon visit, but said the Palestinians were using it as a pretext to plunge the area into violence.

"We were against the visit by Sharon at the Temple Mount," said Sneh. "It was not needed, it was a mistake. But it was not the spark which ignited the flame of violence. I think we know it is an orchestrated, well prepared eruption of violence. Maybe this was a pretext, the visit of Sharon -- but it is not the real reason, it is not the case."

Barak, who met with his Cabinet on Monday, said, "The soldiers and our officers were instructed to use any method to protect the citizens of Israel." Those measures were said to include the use of tanks.

France condemns 'provocation'

Barak says "the door is open" for negotiations .WAV | .AIFF

Foreign condemnation of Sharon swelled Monday, with French President Jacques Chirac calling Sharon's visit an "irresponsible provocation."

"I unreservedly condemn the deliberate provocation carried out by Ariel Sharon, for domestic political motives, at the most sensitive moment in peace negotiations," French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in a statement.

"It was definitely counter-productive," Albright told reporters in Paris after meeting Chirac.

Sharon told reporters he had sent a letter to Albright complaining the United States had been mistaken in its reaction to his visit to the site.

Arab anger exploded after the visit, which Palestinians say defiled Al-Haram al-Sharif, the site of the al-Aqsa mosque, revered by Muslims as their third holiest shrine.

"This visit by Sharon constituted a humiliation to the feelings of Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and Christians," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said during talks in Cairo, Egypt, with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

It was the first direct official comment on the clashes from Syria, which hosts radical Palestinian groups opposed to negotiations aimed at ending more than five decades of conflict.

Calls for peace

Erakat says the Israelis think they can "negotiate with bullets" .WAV | .AIFF

Egypt and Syria urged Arab states to put aside their disputes and convene an Arab summit -- the first in four years -- to discuss the clashes.

"What is happening is absolutely unacceptable, not only from the point of view of (Sharon's) action, but also (from the point of view of) the reaction," Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini told Italy's TG1 television.

The European Union, through current EU presidency holder France, urged all those responsible "on both sides to take all necessary measures to stop the violence and avoid new provocations."

Pope John Paul II called for peace in a message to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

"Spiritually close to the families who have lost someone, I address my heartfelt appeal to all those involved, so that arms can be silenced, provocations can be avoided, and the road towards dialogue can be resumed," the pope said.

A statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of Gulf Arab states urged the world to stop "these Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people and to put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks."

Calls for war

In Cairo; Damascus, Syria; Amman, Jordan; and the Yemeni capital Sanaa, thousands took to the streets to protest against the killings and urge a Muslim holy war on Israel, echoing earlier calls for vengeance from militant groups.

"These confrontations with the Zionist army prove that only the resistance and jihad are the means which allow Palestinians to liberate their lands and protect their holy shrines," said Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdullah Shalah in Damascus.

Students in Cairo called on God to grant Arabs and Muslims victory over their Israeli enemies, while in Amman, an estimated 8,000 demonstrators called on the government to sever ties with Israel and expel its envoy.

"No to peace because if we surrender under peace there will be no Arabs," said waiter Yousef Abu Sleim.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said peace in the Middle East could only be brought about through an end to the state of Israel.

"Real peace can only be achieved through an end to occupation and the return of all Palestinians to their homeland and through respect for the rights of all Palestinians, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, to determine their own future," Khatami told state radio.

CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett, CNN U.N. Producer Ronni Berke, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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