Palestinians Open to Resuming Talks

Palestinian leaders Saturday welcomed Israeli offers to resume peace talks but said any negotiations must come with efforts to stop violence and halt building of Jewish settlements.

A new round of meetings also depends in part on whether the Palestinians can complete formation of a new government. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, who is leading an emergency government, has until Tuesday to form a Cabinet. He has been engaged in intense wrangling with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat over ministerial choices.

New Israeli-Palestinian contacts probably would try to pick up the stalled U.S.-backed “road map” peace plan, which aims to end three years of fighting and create a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said last week that he was willing to hold talks with Korei, reversing previous suggestions that Israel would not deal with him. Korei said Saturday that no meeting with Sharon is planned immediately, but the two sides are in contact.

Korei also is trying to restart talks with Hamas and other militant groups to persuade them to stop attacks on Israelis.

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Cabinet minister in charge of negotiations, said that the Palestinians were always ready for talks but that Israel must stop construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, lands the Palestinians want for a future state.

“Those who want to resume a meaningful peace process, resume negotiations, must stop settlements, must stop walls, must stop the fait accompli policies,” Erekat said.

Meanwhile Saturday, about 100,000 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv for a memorial ceremony for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the eighth anniversary of his death. Rabin was shot by an ultranationalist Jew opposed to his peace efforts.

As those gathered called for a return to peace talks, violence continued in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A Palestinian man was shot to death in the West Bank city of Nablus. The military said soldiers shot the man after he disobeyed calls to stop, ignored warning shots and fled from troops. In Gaza, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian near the border fence, Palestinian security officials said.

In another development, legislators from Arafat’s Fatah organization nominated a hard-liner, Rafiq al Natche, to be parliament speaker.