The head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has had separate talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an effort to restart security talks and shore up a fragile cease-fire. George Tenet met first in Israel with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and then with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The CIA director faces deep mistrust, conflicting demands and outbreaks of violence as he tries to cement the cease-fire ordered by Mr. Arafat after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 20 Israelis in Tel Aviv last Friday. An Israeli spokesman says Mr. Sharon told the U.S. visitor he demands a halt to Palestinian terror, violence and incitement, which he said have not ceased. Israel wants the Palestinian Authority to arrest militants from the groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad that have been behind recent bombings.
Palestinian officials reject the demand.
Meanwhile, Palestinians say a gunfight erupted near the Gaza - Egypt border when Israeli forces destroyed several buildings and some farmland during an incursion into Palestinian Authority areas. The Israeli army denies any incursion into Palestinian-controlled land. In the West Bank, Israeli troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at Palestinian stone-throwers in the divided city of Hebron. Israeli soldiers also clashed outside Ramallah with Palestinian students angry about the blockade that prevents them from reaching Bir Zeit University. Email this article to a friend.