Barak: No international peacekeeping force

Mideast leaders prepare for meetings with Clinton

CNN Correspondent Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak vehemently rejected on Monday a Palestinian call for an international force to secure a peace ending more than six weeks of violence between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.

"We do not believe in rewarding violence, and an international presence will become a reward to the Palestinians' violence," Barak said. "We do not believe such a presence will reduce violence, and in a way might contribute to more excuses for the Palestinian side to complicate things."

But top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said that such a force would a topic of discussion in upcoming talks between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington.

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"The issue of international protection is also on the agenda, and above all the peace process," Erakat said. "The problems of what is happening today is the Israeli occupation, and it's time to start ending this occupation."

Both Arafat and Barak plan to travel to Washington later this week for another round of meetings with Clinton -- Arafat to meet with the American president on Thursday, and Barak to meet with Clinton on Sunday.

Barak said his trip to Washington would "support the American effort to put an end to the violence and to stabilize the situation on the ground."

Fighting continues

While their leaders prepared to travel to Washington, the bitter and sometimes brutal violence between the Israelis and Palestinians continued into its sixth bloody week.

At least 186 people -- 156 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs and 17 Israeli Jews -- have been killed since this round of violence began on September 28.

Twelve Palestinians were reported injured in fighting on Monday in Hebron and the Erez checkpoint in Gaza, where Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers after the funeral of a 28-year-old Palestinian killed on Sunday.

As in nearly every clash in the latest spate of violence, Monday's clashes featured stone- and firebomb-throwing Palestinians and Israeli soldiers armed with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition.

Back in Jerusalem, Barak had faced a series of no-confidence motions in the Israeli Knesset, filed by Arab members upset over the deaths of the 13 Israeli Arabs. The motions were considered symbolic and were later withdrawn.

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