Palestinians, Israelis Hold Initial Talks

Bolstering a conciliatory mood that has taken hold since Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was inaugurated this month, Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday held their first high-level diplomatic meetings in more than 18 months.

A Palestinian official said afterward that a summit between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could take place in two weeks, though other officials on both sides said no date had been set.

The flurry of Israeli-Palestinian contacts came as a senior American envoy, William J. Burns, arrived for talks with leaders on both sides.

Burns met with veteran Labor Party politician Shimon Peres, who is now serving as vice premier in Sharon’s government. Afterward, the assistant secretary of State said the Bush administration considered this a “promising moment” for Middle East peacemaking.

“President Bush is committed to doing everything that we can to take advantage of this moment,” said Burns, adding that the United States was encouraged by steps taken by both sides in the last two weeks.

Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, has deployed troops in the Gaza Strip in an effort to stop militants from attacking Israeli targets and has been holding truce talks with armed factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Apparently as a result of these measures, relative calm has prevailed in the seaside territory for the last week.

Still, sporadic violence continued. Israeli troops, returning what they said was fire from Palestinian gunmen, killed a Palestinian girl in the central Gaza town of Deir al Balah. Hospital officials said the child, reported to be between the ages of 3 and 5, was shot in the head.

The army said it was investigating the incident.

Israel has welcomed Abbas’ actions, particularly the deployment of security forces, as a show of good faith. In a reciprocal gesture, Israel signaled that it would suspend “targeted killings” of Palestinian militants.

Since the current conflict erupted in September 2000, Israel has used helicopter-fired missiles to kill scores of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, most notably Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin last year. Palestinians consider such killings extrajudicial executions, and the militant groups have demanded a halt to them in exchange for a cessation of attacks.

Israel’s new policy apparently does not apply to routine confrontations. In the northern West Bank town of Kalkilya, Israeli troops fatally shot one wanted militant and seriously wounded two others as they attempted to flee, the army said.

In return, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, with which the wounded men were affiliated, threatened to return to violence.

Israeli security sources identified the slain man as Maher abu Sanineh of Hamas, and said he had been involved in attacks, including an attempted car bombing.

Wednesday’s talks between Sharon’s diplomatic advisor, Dov Weisglass, and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat marked the first high-level talks since the summer of 2003, when Abbas was Palestinian Authority prime minister and held a series of meetings with Sharon.

Participants described Wednesday’s meeting as cordial, but the sides were not able to agree on an agenda for a meeting between the two leaders.

Israeli officials and news reports have said Israel wants the summit to focus on security questions. Abbas’ aides say he wants to introduce other topics, including the release of thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails, the revival of the dormant U.S.-backed peace plan known as the road map, and Israel’s construction of a barrier in the West Bank.

Israeli and Palestinian officials offered conflicting versions of when and whether Israel expected to cede military control of several large West Bank cities. Abbas told commanders to be ready for such a hand-over within 10 days, but Israel said no accord was yet in place.

Erekat and Weisglass are to meet again next week to negotiate an agenda for the Sharon-Abbas meeting. Palestinian official Hassan abu Libdeh, who took part in Wednesday’s talks, told reporters that a summit within two weeks was possible.

The nascent contacts were not universally welcomed.

In Gaza, Jewish settlers slashed the tires of Palestinian police vehicles as Israeli and Palestinian commanders met at a junction near the Gush Katif settlement to coordinate the next phase of the Palestinian deployment.

Stone-throwing settlers also scuffled with Israeli police, and five were detained for questioning, Israeli officials said.

The settlers, who are bitterly protesting Sharon’s plan to relinquish Gaza this year, said they considered the Palestinian police officers to be “terrorists” and objected to their presence close to the settlements.