JERUSALEM - A new United States envoy has launched the Bush Administration's first foray into Israeli-Palestinian shuttle diplomacy, only to find himself mired in the same intrigues that have tripped up many before him.
Stepping gingerly into a more active US peacemaking role, William Burns, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, yesterday called on both sides to end eight months of bloodshed.
He quickly encountered entrenched mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians, arcane arguments over mechanisms for restarting stalled peace talks and lingering suspicions about US intentions in the region.
His first day of talks took place against the almost daily violence that has raged since peace negotiations broke down last September.
Twin car bombs rocked central Jerusalem yesterday, causing few injuries but rattling the nerves of Israelis still reeling from a wave of deadly suicide attacks and the devastating collapse of a wedding hall.
A gunman killed a 60-year-old Palestinian man suspected of collaborating with Israel in the West Bank town of Tulkarm, Palestinian sources said.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians detonated a roadside bomb beside an Israeli tank trying to enter the Yebma refugee camp.
At least 448 Palestinians, 87 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed in the Palestinian revolt against Israeli rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Burns, a career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Jordan, shuttled between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem. He was expected to do the same today.
It marked an increased role for the US in a conflict that has demanded the involvement of every President since Richard Nixon in the 1970s.
The first round of talks appeared to have done little to narrow differences between the two sides. But as a first step to halting the violence, Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said, Israel had proposed resuming talks on security coordination with Palestinians.
A senior Palestinian security official said Arafat had "agreed in principle," but there were still key differences to be worked out on the timing and participants.
Burns said he urged Arafat to do everything possible to stop attacks.
Meeting later with Sharon, he received a pledge that Israeli forces would continue exercising restraint - although not indefinitely - despite the latest wave of bombings.
Israeli officials told Burns their "unilateral ceasefire" announced on May 22 would remain for now. Palestinian officials have dismissed it as a propaganda ploy.
- REUTERS
Feature: Middle East
Map
UN: Information on the Question of Palestine
Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN
Palestine's Permanent Observer Mission to the UN
Middle East Daily
Arabic News
Arabic Media Internet Network
Jerusalem Post
Israel Wire
US Department of State - Middle East Peace Process
US Envoy walks into political quicksands
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
