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Palestinians keep lid on protests

police

U.S. Secretary of State Christopher going to Israel

October 4, 1996
Web posted at: 2:15 p.m. EDT (1915 GMT)

In this story:

(CNN) -- As Israeli police kept their distance, Muslim clergy and Palestinian authorities moved quickly Friday to prevent renewed Israeli-Palestinian violence that has killed more than 70 people since last week. Calls from the Islamic radicals of Hamas for violent confrontation went unanswered.

Palestinians acted to keep the lid on protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ahead of U.S.-mediated talks with Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher will travel to the region to hold separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian authority leader Yasser Arafat.

Announcing Christopher's quick trip to the region, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said, "It's clear the situation in the Middle East remains dangerous and requires intensive and productive efforts."

Christopher will fly to Israel Saturday and meet with Netanyahu on Sunday. He will go to Gaza to see Arafat.

Defusing confrontation

At Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, where three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli police one week ago, clerics and Palestinian legislators worked to defuse any confrontation.

There was a brief flurry of running and some panic by Palestinians, a few of them saying later they thought they saw Israeli police approaching. Jews, too, were on edge. Worshippers abandoned their prayer at the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall), when a few stones were pitched from Muslim holy places above.

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Through it all, the 3,000 Israeli police deployed in Arab East Jerusalem were low-key. Unlike last week, they did not storm the mosque complex as soon as the first rock flew. In the end, both Muslims and Jews decided not to take chances. The number who came to worship at the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, was lower than usual.

Israeli police said scrupulous checks of identification cards kept many potential troublemakers away.


'Don't lose hope'

While Palestinians have expressed frustration, desperation and anger at the status of Mideast peace efforts, Israelšs Netanyahu appealed them not to lose hope. "I ask you, don't go into mourning. Don't lose hope," Netanyahu said on Israeli television's Arabic service Thursday night. The talks beginning Sunday are "an opportunity for a fresh start for the peace process," he said.

Arafat declared in Tunis on Friday he would not compromise on any Palestinian rights at the talks. The Palestinian president briefed Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on this week's summit with Netanyahu. Later, Arafat left for Naples to meet Italian government leaders.

The two-day Washington summit ended on Wednesday with no agreement on major substantive issues.

In related developments Friday:

  • Jordan's King Hussein, who also attended the summit, urged Palestinians and Israelis to remain calm and give dialogue a chance in the coming talks.

  • French President Jacques Chirac said France and Italy will ask their European Union partners to reaffirm Europe's desire to play a role in reviving the Middle East peace process. France previously had faulted Clinton for failing to invite European leaders to the Washington summit.

    The Chirac government also said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should play a major role in trying to revive the peace process.

  • Egypt and Turkey issued a joint call for Netanyahu to close the controversial pedestrian tunnel that runs near the Al Aqsa mosque.

Correspondent Bill Delaney and Reuters contributed to this report.

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