Peres meets Annan as toll climbs

JERUSALEM - An Israeli has been killed in a shooting attack on a road near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the Army says.

"An Israeli civilian was killed after shots were fired at his car, which overturned," an Army spokeswoman said yesterday. Israel Radio identified the dead man as a Jewish settler from Ofra, near the Palestinian-ruled town of Ramallah.

In a separate incident, Palestinians shot and wounded an Israeli driving on a road mainly used by Jewish settlers near the West Bank town of Nablus.

Hours earlier, bomb blasts and gunfire killed seven Palestinians as Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres began a visit to the United States to discuss an Egyptian-Jordanian peace plan.

An explosion in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah levelled a two-storey residence, killing a 6-year-old girl, a boy of 7 and a man of 40.

Palestinian sources disagreed over whether Israelis, or Palestinian fugitives trying to make a bomb, had caused the blast.

The building was across the street from the headquarters of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. He was unhurt.

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants fired mortar rounds at Jewish settlement areas, the Army said. Palestinians said five people were lightly injured in the Army's return fire from heavy machine guns and tanks.

A bomb exploded in a parked car belonging to a Jewish settler in Gaza, killing one Palestinian and wounding one, the Israeli Army said. The man killed in the blast had been working in the Rafiah Yam settlement at the time.

In Gaza City, a van blew up in a garage, killing two Palestinians, brothers-in-law aged 22 and 17, and wounding three in a nearby building. The exact circumstances were not clear.

Peres said Israelis and Palestinians had an understanding - but no sealed agreement - that they were working towards a ceasefire.

Peres started his trip by meeting United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. He is scheduled to hold talks with United States Secretary of State Colin Powell tomorrow, and see President George W. Bush on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after his talks with Annan, Peres said Israel preferred direct talks with the Palestinians to giving the United States the leading role in peace talks.

Asked if Bush should play the same strong role as Bill Clinton did in Middle East talks, Peres said: "We would appreciate American support. But we don't suggest the Americans should become the chief negotiator."

- REUTERS

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