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Palestinian Is Killed in Clashes

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From Times Wire Services

A Palestinian youth was killed during clashes here with Israeli troops Saturday, just ahead of a round of peacemaking efforts.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was set to begin a mission shuttling between the two sides, said he would emphasize the need for resumed negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns is to visit within days, and an American official said President Bush would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Washington on Oct. 16 to discuss the Middle East conflict and possible U.S. action in Iraq.

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Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat signed 2-year-old legislation defining Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, parliament Speaker Ahmed Korei said.

Korei said Arafat decided to sign the bill Saturday in response to a U.S. congressional measure that required Washington to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but most countries, including the United States, have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed it.

The new Palestinian law is only symbolic: Israel fully controls both parts of the city and Sharon has pledged not to redivide it.

In Nablus, the shooting of 15-year-old Amer Hashem came during the sort of confrontation that has become common in the area. Youths often defy the nearly continuous curfew Israel has imposed since mid-June in response to suicide bombings by Palestinian militants.

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The Israeli army said soldiers fired in self-defense after they were attacked with stones and at least one bomb but were not aware of any casualties.

More than 230 Palestinian children and teenagers are among those who have lost their lives during the 2-year-old uprising against Israeli occupation.

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