Middle East Conference gets wary response

3.00 pm

JERUSALEM - A surprise US announcement of preparations for a Middle East conference drew a wary response in Israel at the weekend but was welcomed by Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader Ariel Sharon rejects as a peace partner.

While both sides pondered the prospect of returning to the peace table under an international umbrella, Israeli forces briefly thrust deep into the West Bank city of Nablus in a raid on Palestinian militants in which three people were killed.

In Bethlehem, efforts to ease a month-old standoff at the Israeli-besieged Church of the Nativity on Orthodox Christian Good Friday stumbled when a deal to bring food to people inside the shrine fell through.

Appearing to catch both sides off-guard, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington was preparing for a conference this summer presented by a "window of opportunity" opened by the end of Israel's month-long siege on Arafat.

But the White House later tried to discourage high expectations, saying only ministers would attend the conference and it would probably not propose a final settlement.

No venue or date has been set. Powell made his announcement after meeting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan aan Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and two European Union leaders -- a "quartet" set up to co-ordinate the international peace effort.

"Until now, it is an idea that we welcome. But it has not been agreed upon and we have not been officially notified," Arafat told reporters in Ramallah.

"We will consult all the brethren Arab leaders over this conference before it convenes," said Arafat, whose freedom of movement was restored after Israeli tanks left his compound in the West Bank city on Wednesday under a U.S.-brokered deal.

The proposal, which Arafat said was based on recent discussions between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, was agreed by the quartet on Thursday.

"The specific issue of the conference has to be studied," Danny Ayalon, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Sharon said.

Ayalon said that Sharon, who has himself proposed a regional conference on Middle East peace, would seek more details on Powell's plan when he met Bush at the White House on Tuesday.

Israel has resisted a wider European Union or United Nations role in Middle East peacemaking, viewing both organisations as biased toward the Palestinians.

A senior Israeli political source said the main problem remained Arafat, whom he called an instigator of terror.

"The basis for any progress is your partner, and right now he has failed on all marks," the source said.

The White House said Arafat's role in the Middle East peace process remained an open question. "The president does believe that the Palestinian people deserve better," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.

David Levy, a member of Sharon's security cabinet, said an international conference would be "a prize for terrorism" after a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks that led to the launching on March 29 of Israel's military offensive in the West Bank.

Arab nations, frustrated that a deadlocked UN Security Council would not denounce Israel for blocking a probe into its assault on the Jenin refugee camp, said they would ask the world body's General Assembly to accuse the Jewish state of war crimes.

Syrian UN envoy Fayssal Mekdad said Arab diplomats would shift the argument from the 15-nation council to a reconvened emergency special session of the 189-nation General Assembly expected to take place Monday and Tuesday.

Resolutions in the 189-member assembly are adopted by a majority vote as compared to the council where five members -- including the United States, Israel's closest ally -- have veto power. But assembly resolutions carry less weight than council decisions.

Arafat's cabinet, faced with the task of rebuilding urban infrastructure smashed by the crushing Israeli assault, held its first session since the sweep began. There was no immediate cabinet statement after the meeting.

Commenting on the Israeli raid on Nablus, a senior State Department official said: "Incursions are not good. If they occur, they should be as temporary as possible."

But he added: "The way to resolve this is for the Palestinian Authority to take control, stop people from planning bombings, arrest bombers and other terrorists, disband the groups and cooperate with the Israelis so that Israel would not feel it necessary to carry out this sort of operation."

A Palestinian policeman, a Hamas militant and an Israeli army officer were killed in Nablus after soldiers stormed the hideout of a group of militants suspected of preparing a suicide bombing in Israel.

Four men, including one thought to be a would-be suicide bomber, were taken prisoner in the building near the northern West Bank city's historic old centre, security sources said.

The army then destroyed the hideout where it said it found two bomb-making laboratories and a car laden with explosives.

At the Church of the Nativity, plans to deliver food to the dozens of civilians, clergy and Palestinian security personnel stuck inside the shrine since April 2 hit a snag.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Salah Taamari said Israeli officials told his team when it arrived to supervise the delivery that no food would be let in and that Palestinian negotiators could not enter the church unless they promised to bring out a list naming everyone inside.

Israeli negotiators were not available for comment.

Food is scarce inside the 1,400-year-old building, revered by Christians as standing on the spot where Jesus was born.

Israel wants some 30 gunmen in the church, whom it blames for suicide bombings and shootings, to stand trial in Israel or be exiled. The Palestinians say that is out of the question.

At least 1,337 Palestinians and 459 Israelis have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

- REUTERS

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