Sharon prepares for U.S. visit

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is due to head to Washington on Sunday for his first meeting with U.S. President George Bush since both men took office.

The meeting comes after Israel's easing of its blockade in the West Bank and Gaza failed to quell violence in the region.

A Palestinian man died in clashes with Israeli troops on Friday, while gunfire exchanges later erupted near the West Bank town of Tulkarm, said the Reuters news agency.

Israeli Army Radio said its soldiers returned fire after Palestinian gunmen fired on an Israeli security post. There were no reports of injuries.

Ahead of Sharon's visit to Washington, an official Syrian spokesman said Bush had phoned Syrian President Bashar Assad to say he was ready to help efforts to reach a peace deal in the Middle East.

TIMELINES Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:  • Bombings  • Activist deaths    RESOURCES Timeline gallery: Israeli leader Ariel Sharon

It was the first phone conversation between the two leaders since the start of the Bush administration in January.

Israel announced new steps to relax the clampdown it has imposed for what it calls security reasons to prevent attacks.

A defence ministry statement said it expected the moves, including opening in daylight hours of both the Allenby Bridge linking the West Bank and Jordan, and the Gaza-Egypt border for entry from Egypt, would "encourage the Palestinian economy."

But Palestinians, who call the closure a "collective punishment" that strangles their economy, rejected Israel's announcement as superficial.

Demonstrators in the West Bank and Gaza earlier heeded a call by Palestinian groups to maintain pressure on Israel to relax measures imposed after Palestinians began an uprising against Israeli occupation of the territories in September.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said the Palestinian killed on Friday had been shot near Karni Crossing in Gaza.

It said at least five other Palestinians had been wounded in that incident by live ammunition fired by Israeli troops.

The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers fired at the legs of Palestinians who were throwing stones and moving in a threatening way toward on their outpost between Karni and Netzarim.

Reuters contributed to this report.

One dead, 8 hurt in Middle East violence
March 16, 2001

Palestinian National Authority
Israeli Prime Minister's Office

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