Barak, Arafat drift farther apart

Sharon, above, met Sunday with Barak

Mideast violence ebbs after day of rage

In this story: Violence diminishes Children on the frontlines RELATED STORIES, SITES

CNN Correspondents Jerrold Kessel and Richard Blystone contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met Sunday with hawkish Likud leader Ariel Sharon in a bid to create an emergency coalition.

VIDEO Interview with Murhaf Jouejati of The Middle East Institute and Naomi Weinberger from Columbia University on the Mideast crisis Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports on funerals and skirmishes in the Mideast (October 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     AUDIO Colonel Gal Hirsh of the Israel Defense Forces comments on the fighting in Ramallah on Friday 851K/40 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace     RESOURCES Mideast struggle for peace Key Players     ALSO Washington protest in support of Palestinians Israeli policemen suspended for allegedly beating Palestinian suspect Israeli-Palestinian gunfight breaks out in Hebron despite curfew

The move comes after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat also sought an alliance with more extreme elements. Palestinian officials confirmed Saturday that Arafat has forged a political truce with the militant Islamic opposition.

Ziad Abu Zayyad, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, said the alliance "was aimed to contain all the Palestinian factors and to guarantee harmony between their behavior and the behavior of the Palestinian Authority."

"Indirectly this will help prevent any operation by these people to sabotage and undermine our plans and our strategic interests," he said.

Barak held late-night talks with ministers on Saturday. The prime minister could face efforts on Monday to end his minority government when parliament meets.

Left-wing Israelis and Palestinians have warned that including Sharon would deal a fatal blow to the peace process.

But even as the Barak and Arafat appeared to move farther from each other politically, the violence in the Mideast ebbed. No one was killed at trouble spots on the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday although more than 50 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli forces.

The day before, more than 150 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers were injured as Palestinians appeared to observe a "day of rage."

Saturday, in an unusual development near a border crossing out of Gaza, Palestinian police intervened to herd Palestinian youths away after a number of young protesters were hurt when Israeli troops fired back at their stone-throwing challenge.

Many of the Palestinians who have died in the skirmishes so far have been well under 18. Parents say they cannot stop them going out and hurling stones at the Israelis.

Ahmed, a 13-year-old boy found throwing stones in Bethlehem, told CNN his parents thought he was at a demonstration.

"I can throw just as far as the older guys," he said, adding that he didn't care either that his side always loses.

Iyad, also 13, has been badly wounded in the leg. "I was in bed when they came and told me," said his policeman father. "I thought he was in bed asleep."

Counselor Rana Nashashibi said many Palestinian children are suffering from intense psychological pressure. "Thumb-sucking, bed-wetting or clinging to parents, that's what we call separation anxiety, not being able really to study, or not wanting to go to school," she said.

That image of 12-year-old Mohammed Al Doura, the Palestinian child who died after he and his father were caught in crossfire, carried a fearful message for the young.

"It really shatters their whole feeling of safety and security towards themselves," Nashashibi says. "They get older with stress, they get older with pressure, they get older with the responsibility.

"They're aging, I would say, rather than just growing up fast."

Israelis, Palestinians mark one month of clashes
October 28, 2000
Ramallah clash erupts into gun battle
October 27, 2000
Militant group claims responsibility for Gaza suicide bombing
October 26, 2000
Clinton invites Arafat to Washington
October 24, 2000
Barak and Sharon at odds on coalition government
October 23, 2000
More Middle East killings as Arab nations confer on crisis
October 21, 2000

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