Bomb blast as Mideast talks resume

JERUSALEM -- Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have begun a second round of peace talks in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Taba, soon after a bomb blast wounded an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli official said a roadside bomb exploded near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim on Monday. Israel Radio reported the wounded Israeli would be taken by helicopter to hospital.

The Israeli army closed off the junction between Gaza city and the settlement after the blast, witnesses said.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are holding talks in Taba to try to forge a deal before Israeli elections on February 6.

The bomb is the latest violent incident in nearly four months of a Palestinian uprising in which at least 310 Palestinians, 45 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed.

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Negotiators began the first round of marathon talks on Sunday night. The talks at the Hilton Hotel lasted about two hours.

They are considered the most intensive peace talks since their failed negotiations at Camp David last July.

The two sides are giving themselves 10 days to forge an agreement, but no breakthrough has been reported yet.

The talks are considered the last opportunity for Prime Minister Ehud Barak to boost his re-election prospects before Israelis cast ballots February 6.

He trails right-wing opponent, Likud leader Ariel Sharon, by as much as 20 percent in opinion polls.

The talks involve no outside mediation. Four separate working groups will work on the four primary issues: Territory, which includes the land issue of Jerusalem; Jerusalem holy sites; security; and the so-called "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees.

The negotiators will have before them the five-point plan proposed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, but it was unclear whether the proposal would be used as a starting point.

CNN's Jerrold Kessel said the fact that Clinton is no longer in power and that a very different Israeli government could soon be in power in Israel is helping to focus negotiations. "It seems to be a very substantive effort to grapple with the issues," he said.

But violence is continuing despite those talks. A Palestinian teenager was shot and killed during clashes near the Gaza Karni crossing on Sunday, Palestinian hospital sources said, just hours before direct talks began.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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