Hopes rise for emergency Mideast summit

WEB EXCLUSIVE On the scene with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in Jerusalem On the scene with CNN's Brent Sadler in Beirut, Lebanon On the scene with CNN's Mike Hanna in Jerusalem On the scene with CNN's Jerrold Kessel in Jerusalem (chat)

In this story: No end to violence Security tight Summit a possibility RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan believes he has cleared the way for an emergency Mideast summit in Egypt, senior U.S. officials have told CNN.

Annan's encouraging reports of his meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat came a day after the beating deaths of two Israeli soldiers at the hands of a Palestinian mob and Israel's subsequent airstrike retaliation.

The officials told CNN that President Bill Clinton is willing to go to Egypt, though he wants to speak with Arafat or Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to be sure that Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak are in agreement on the summit agenda. The White House has cleared Clinton's schedule so he can be ready to fly to Egypt for a Sunday meeting, the officials said.

As world leaders scrambled to salvage what little cohesiveness remained of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after 15 days of violence, gunfire in Ramallah, fiery demonstrations in Gaza and confrontations in Jerusalem's Old City kept emotions high on Friday.

VIDEO CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports that tensions in the Mideast remain high although the level of violence has dropped (October 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) After midday prayers in Cairo, Egypt, protesters against Israel marched in the street (October 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Israelis talk with CNN's Christiane Amanpour about how most still support the peace process (October 13) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     GALLERY Scenes of struggle in the Middle East (October 12)     ALSO Picture of Palestinians celebrating soldiers' murders jolts Israelis U.S. holds out little hope for weekend Mideast summit Palestinian, Israeli crisis stirs global protests More stories, audio, video     AUDIO Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath lists conditions for holding a summit with Israel 726K/34 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Israeli spokesman Avraham Pazner says the role of mediator should be left to the United States 826K/38 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Israelis and Palestinians blamed each other for the fighting, which has killed nearly 100 people -- all but a handful of them Palestinians or Israeli Arabs -- since the conflict spilled into the streets following hawkish Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon's September 28 visit to a disputed east Jerusalem shrine.

No end to violence

Gunfire ended a brief calm in Ramallah on Friday afternoon as Palestinians and Israeli security forces targeted each other following a Palestinian march from the police station where the Israeli soldiers died -- and one of the targets of Thursday's Israeli airstrikes -- to the West Bank town's Israeli checkpoint.

Fatah Party leaders appealed for Palestinian young people not to "waste their lives" but to resist with an "intifada of independence" at the police station rally before the crowd marched to the checkpoint.

Some of the demonstrators set fire to tires and launched stones at barricaded Israeli soldiers. The soldiers responded with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. At least four Palestinians were injured.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour reported from a hill outside Ramallah, describing Israeli tanks firing on a small brick building on a nearby hill with heavy machine guns. Return fire came from that area, Amanpour said.

In Gaza, angry demonstrators set fire to buildings housing a hotel, a liquor store and several bars as Palestinian security forces were unable to control the crowds. Leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement also tried in vain to calm the situation.

Police were able to keep the demonstrators away from nearby Jewish settlements.

Israeli police scuffled with Palestinians leaving noon prayers in east Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque at the disputed Old City site known as Haram as-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) to Arabs and the Temple Mount to Jews.

Police used batons to disperse the crowd, avoiding the tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets that have been the hallmarks of the Israeli response to the hail of Palestinian stones and occasional fire bombs.

Security tight

Israeli security in Jerusalem tightened on Friday, but the number of Muslims worshipping at the holy site was significantly lower than they had been in the past, as a clampdown on travel for Palestinians kept many worshippers in their own communities.

Security forces also kept worshippers under 45 years old out of the mosques.

Mahdi Abdul Hadi, founder of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, stood on the Mount of Olives near the Old City and told CNN's Jerrold Kessel that Palestinians were angry and frustrated at Barak's response to the violence.

"Is this the Jerusalem he would like to see -- isolated, deserted?" he said. "You can see Israeli soldiers preventing people from reaching their holy sites on Friday, the most holy day."

The east Jerusalem site is held sacred by both Jews and Muslims, and lies at the heart of the issues that have kept the two sides from concluding a peace accord. Hadi said that this summer's Camp David talks -- which failed to bring the two sides to agreement -- had brought the issue to the forefront to the detriment of the region.

"It's too early to talk about sharing holy sites," Hadi said. "We can talk about sharing electricity, water ... but we cannot share our faith, our holy sites. It's awakened all sleeping horses, all over the region."

Summit a possibility

International leaders intent on ending two weeks of bitter violence in the region -- and setting Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations back on track -- intensified their efforts to bring the principals together.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in Biarritz, France, for a meeting with European Union leaders, said on Friday that there was a "fair chance" of a summit on Saturday in Egypt.

"There is a fair chance that tomorrow there will be a conference in (the Red Sea resort) Sharm el-Sheikh headed by Mr. Clinton, with the participation of Mubarak, (King) Abdullah of Jordan, Barak and Arafat," Peres told CNN's Patricia Kelly.

Sources close to both Barak and Arafat said the two leaders were considering the proposal, but no decisions had been made.

Barak, along with the summit option, was considering a new coalition government, and had offered Likud Party chairman Sharon, whose visit to the holy site in Jerusalem preceded the violence, a position in such a government. Many Palestinians have said it will spell the end of the peace process if he is allowed to participate in the government.

Annan claims breakthrough in Mideast diplomacy
October 11, 2000
U.N. leader improves hopes for resolving Mideast crisis
October 10, 2000
Barak lifts deadline on Palestinians; says he'll attend U.S.-hosted summit if called
October 9, 2000
U.N. secretary-general heads for Mideast meeting with Arafat, Barak
October 8, 2000
Bus shooting caps turbulent day in Middle East
October 7, 2000
Israel closes Palestinian borders anticipating more violence
October 6, 2000
Gaza fighting subsides despite failure at talks
October 5, 2000

Israel Defense Forces
Addameer: Palestinian Human Rights Association
  • Clashes Information Center
Live Western Wall Camera at Aish
Official Palestinian National Authority Web site
Government: Palestinian National Authority
The Israeli Government's Official Web site
About the West Bank
U.S. State Department

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.