Faint Hope Lingers as Mideast Tension Grows U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, left, answers reporters' questions as Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa listens during the news conference at the Red Sea resort in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt. A brief cease-fire in the Middle East ended today, bringing new clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. The United States closed down embassies in the region, but the hope for peace remains. The fighting continues. After a week of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Arab news agencies are reporting the area is in the midst of a new intifada .
Intifada is an Arabic term for a large-scale uprising.
A week of clashes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has left 68 people dead and 1,800 wounded, most of them Palestinians. The Paris talks had appeared on the verge of a breakthrough Wednesday night, but crumbled when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat failed to agree on a formula for investigating the causes of the renewed fighting. A father and his son share a moment of terror. Arafat wanted an international inquiry, while Barak preferred a joint Palestinian-Israeli probe, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Barak returned to Israel this morning.