October 21, 2001
International effort to prevent the violence in the Middle East spiralling out of control swing into top gear this weekend amid a sharply rising death toll. The United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia were scrambling to defuse the situation in the flurry of diplomatic activity after Friday's violence which saw six Palestinians killed and Israeli tanks storm into the Palestinian town of Bethlehem.
With the eyes of the world trained on the US-led military action in Afghanistan, would leaders are anxious to avoid the outbreak of major hostilities in the Middle East.
Washington has become increasingly concerned with stopping the violence as itconduct its campaign in Afghanistan for fear it could unhinge fragile Middle Eastern support for its anti-terror coalition. Violence in occupied territories has intensified since Wednesday, when militants of the Popular front for the Liberation of Palestine(PFLP) assassinated Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in a Jerusalem hotel.
The United States called Friday for an immediate end to Israeli incursions in the Palestine-controlled territories, charging they did nothing but "complicate" an already difficult situation.
"Israeli entries into Palestinian-controlled areas are not helpful, complicate the situation and should be halted," a State Department official requesting anonymity said.
The directive came after three people were fatally shot by Israeli troops near the West Bank town of Bethlehem, bringing the total number of dead Friday to six, with more than 28 injured in the lethal game of brinkmanship being played out in the historic city.
Meanwhile Moscow, co-sponsor with Washington of the faltering Middle East peace process, urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to put an end to heightened violence which has wracked the region for over a year.
"It is necessary to put an end as soon as possible to the escalation of the violence and to get back round the negotiation table," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The diplomatic statement were accompanied by a rush of envoys to the region and the hasty arrangement of meetings aimed at bringing Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiation table.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in New York on Sunday, Annan's spoke spokesman announced.
A spokesman for the Israeli mission to the United Nations said Peres would fly in from Israel on Sunday and go on to Washington after his talks with Annan.
An Israeli embassy source in Washington said Peres would meet his US counterpart Colin Powell in the US capital on Thursday The European Union urged parties to the Middle East conflict to re-launch peace efforts and said it was dispatching its foreign policy chief Javier Solana to the area.
Moscow also sent an envoy to Middle East on Friday in a bid to help restart peace talks.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meanwhile, telephoned Yasser Arafat to discuss ways of halting the escalating violence, said a senior advisor to the Palestinian leader, Nabil Abu Rudeina.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak speaking in Montreal, said that Arafat should hand over terrorist in his midst before Western leaders give him a second chance.
Arafat won a propaganda coup this week when he was received by Blair in London.
While the international emphasis was on diplomacy, on the ground it was the guns which were doing the talking as Israeli troops and Palestinians traded fire after 20 tanks penetrated deep into Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Israeli armoured vehicles also rolled into the Palestinian village of Beit Jala to protect the Jewish settlement of Gilo outside annexed east Jerusalem.
An Israeli defence ministry official later vowed the Israeli forces would stay put in Bethlehem "as long as necessary" to protect Gilo.
The latest deaths brought the toll for the year-old Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation to 891, including 691 Palestinians and 178 Israelis.
The Palestinian leadership said Friday that it wanted the international community to help restart political and security dialogue with Israel despite the deadly violence of past several days.-AFP
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