Settler, 2 Palestinians Killed as Palestinians Meet with CIA Chief

11/08/2002| IslamWeb

HIGHTLIGHTS: al-Yahya & Tenet Discuss Reform of Palestinian Security Forces||Egypt to Try Rekindle Palestinian-Israeli Security Talks||Intifadha Claims Six More Lives||SH Yassin Meets Catholic Patriarch Sabah|| STORY: A Palestinian Resistance man was shot dead after he killed an Israeli woman during a raid on a West Bank settlement, capping a day that saw eight people die, despite a Palestinian security official's meeting with CIA chief George Tenet.

At least one Resistance man forced his way into the Mekhora settlement some 15 kilometers (nine miles) southeast of the West Bank town of Nablus and managed to kill a female settler before Israeli occupation troops struck him down.

Israel public radio, meanwhile, said two other settlers were seriously wounded in the attack, both of whom were taken to hospital.

A helicopter and a large number of occupation troops were searching the area for a possible second attacker, it added.

AL-YAHYA & TENET DISCUSS REFORM OF PALESTINIAN SECURITY FORCES

On the diplomatic front, Tenet, who put forward proposals for downsizing the Palestinian security services in June, met for 90 minutes at the CIA's US headquarters with newly appointed Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razeq al-Yahya, a US government official said on condition of anonymity.

"They had a good, useful discussion," said a source close to the talks, who declined to elaborate further on the discussions that centered on the reform of the much-maligned Palestinian security forces.

A CIA spokesman refused to confirm the meeting, but it was said to have taken place on the third and final day of a visit to Washington by a Palestinian delegation headed by top negotiator Saeb Erakat.

The meetings in Washington are the first high-level contacts between the Palestinians and the United States since US President George W. Bush called for Yasser Arafat to be dumped in June.

As the Palestinian police, widely perceived as corrupt and inefficient, was coming under scrutiny, Egypt announced it would renew efforts to stop the bloodshed by meeting Sunday with Israeli officials.

EGYPT TO TRY REKINDLE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI SECURITY TALKS

Egypt announced its Sunday meeting with Israeli officials in a bid to rekindle security talks, after the failure of the latest round of negotiations over an Israeli proposal to withdraw from reoccupied areas in Gaza in return for a Palestinian crackdown on Resistance groups.

With both Israel and the Palestinians wanting guarantees before making the first move on the so-called Gaza initiative, the 22-month-old cycle of violence continued to rage over the weekend.

INTIFADHA CLAIMS SIX MORE LIVES

Israel denounced the late night attack on the settlement, blaming it on an "irresponsible Palestinian leadership".

The shooting came hours after the occupation army issued a statement expressing regret over the death of a Palestinian man who was killed by troops as he drove through the West Bank town of Nablus while it was under curfew Saturday afternoon.

Palestinian security sources said Nablus municipality worker Ahmad Qreni, 54, was driving through the town's centre when a tank opened fire on his vehicle. He was hit in the head by bullets, dying shortly afterwards at the town's hospital.

The Israeli occupation army confirmed its soldiers had shot the man dead and "expressed regret for the incident", saying an initial probe showed the man had a pass which allowed him to travel in the city during the curfew.

In the northern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian was also shot dead by Israeli troops.

The occupation army said the man was carrying grenades which exploded when they shot him, while Palestinian witnesses said he was burying a bomb in the border area.

Elsewhere, an Israeli woman, who was critically injured in a July 31 Palestinian bombing at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, died of her wounds on Saturday, becoming the eighth victim of the attack.

Meanwhile, a teenager injured two days ago following clashes with the Israeli occupation army, and a 23-year-old wounded during an Israeli incursion into Beit Lahia the same day, died on Saturday in Gaza City.

A controversial July 23 air raid which targeted a military leader of the militant Islamist group Hamas also claimed a 16th victim late Friday.

HAMAS STEPS UP ATTACKS

The Palestinian Resistance group Hamas claimed the man seeking to infiltrate Nir Am in Gaza as one of its own. Hamas has stepped up its attacks since Israel killed its military commander in the Gaza Strip along with 15 other Palestinians in an air strike last month.

Though dedicated to Israel's destruction, Hamas recently hinted at its willingness to hold truce talks on condition that the Jewish state relinquish areas of the West Bank that it reoccupied after bombings in June and stop its track-and-kill operations against senior Resistance leaders.

SH YASSIN MEETS CATHOLIC PATRIARCHK SABAH

Hamas's founder met Palestinian Catholic Patriarch Michel Sabbah in Gaza City on Saturday -- the first time the two have held talks -- and reiterated Israel had to make the first move.

"We cannot provide any initiatives at this time. This is not a time of initiatives. That comes when Israel returns our land, leaves (Palestinian areas) and stops its aggression," Sheikh Ahmed Yassin told reporters.

The army expressed its regret over the killing of the Nablus municipal worker, who was driving an electrical repair van that was marked as authorized to travel in the city despite an Israeli curfew.

"This just goes to show how insufferable our situation is -- even those supposedly permitted to be out and about are at risk," Nablus Mayor Ghassan Shak'a said.

The army has reoccupied much of the West Bank, with curfews and closures causing widespread economic damage. Israel says the measures are needed to keep out suicide bombers.

PHOTO CAPTION

The daughter (R) of slain Palestinian municipal worker Ahmad Qreini cries in Al-Ettihad hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus August 10, 2002. Palestinian witnesses and medical officials said Israeli troops shot Qreini dead as he drove a repair van marked as authorized to travel in the sprawling city despite an Israeli curfew. Israeli military sources said the incident would be fully investigated. Photo by Abed Omar Qusini/Reute