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Clashes overshadow efforts to revive Mideast peace process
May 9, 1997
Web posted at: 11:57 a.m. EDT (1557 GMT)JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Hundreds of Palestinian youths hurled rocks, gasoline bombs and empty bottles Friday at Israeli security officials in the West Bank town of Hebron. The violent clashes came as Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Tel Aviv to discuss security issues.
The unrest also offered a blunt reminder of the hardships facing U.S. envoy Dennis Ross, who is working to salvage the faltering Middle East peace process.
Soldiers clash with Palestinians (630K/16 sec. QuickTime movie)
At least three people were injured in the Hebron violence. Witnesses said the clashes erupted when Palestinian youths tossed stones at Israeli soldiers near the invisible line that divides the city between Palestinian and Israeli rule.
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The soldiers responded by firing rubber bullets at the crowd, witnesses said. Palestinian police pushed the demonstrators back to end the tensions.
Peace talks and security cooperation between Israel and Palestinian officials broke off in March, when Israel moved forward on construction of a 6,500-unit Jewish housing complex on the southeastern outskirts of Jerusalem. The construction triggered weeks of violence.
And in a published interview Friday, an Israeli general warned that the continued stalemate is bringing the two sides closer to armed conflict.
Security meeting at U.S. embassy
The heads of Palestinian Preventive Security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan, met Friday morning in Tel Aviv with officials of the Israeli Shin Bet security service, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press.
Israel radio said the meeting was held at the U.S. embassy and presided over by a CIA official. The head of the Shin Bet, Ami Ayalon, did not attend but sent lower-ranking officials instead, the radio reported.
"We are still in the stage of putting out feelers on the possibility of resuming the negotiations," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Friday.
Netanyahu said the test of Friday's security meeting would be if it led to a resumption of "direct, ongoing contacts between the two sides."
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has refused to resume full security cooperation or discuss the peace process until Israel stops its construction of the Jerusalem housing complex, a demand Israel has refused.
Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Ross, who has shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days trying to get peace talks moving again, met with Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai. He is to meet later with Arafat.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- U.S. envoy looks for opening in Mideast stalemate - May 8, 1997
- Netanyahu says peace process will continue - May 1, 1997
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