CIA chief pushes Mideast peace

Some Israelis say Sharon should drop policy of restraint

JERUSALEM (CNN) - U.S. CIA chief George Tenet is set to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders as he continues his effort to promote peace in the Mideast.

Tenet will hold separate talks with both sides as part of renewed U.S. involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis after a lull since U.S. President George Bush took office in January.

Tenet has already met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and is due to meet officials in Jordan.

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said there was nothing new in Tenet's visit as the U.S. has been involved in Israeli-Palestinian security meetings for a long time.

"If these meetings can be revived for the purpose of ending the violence, of course we view this in a positive light," Sharon adviser Raanan Gissin told Associated Press news agency.

The Palestinian chief of preventive security in the West Bank, Jibril Rajoub, said: "We hope he will succeed by his mission to assure the implementation of the cease-fire as a first step toward going back to table of negotiations."

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Although Sharon and Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat have publicly committed to breaking the cycle of violence, neither believes the other's pledge, CNN's Mike Hanna reported.

Many Israelis say their government should drop its recent policy of restraint, he added.

Under banners vilifying Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem.

The gathering was organised by the Council of Settlers -- an umbrella body representing the hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Israelis were complaining that the Sharon Government has not done enough to protect the settlements from Palestinian attack, Hanna said.

The anger was fuelled by an incident Tuesday night in which a Jewish infant suffered severe head injuries when a Palestinian crowd in the West Bank threw rocks at a car in which the five-month-old boy and his family were travelling.

Many here regard Israel's unilateral declaration of a ceasefire as a sign of weakness, as a signal to Palestinian militants that they can attack Jewish settlements and settlers with impunity, Hanna said.

But among Palestinians the Israeli pledge of restraint is regarded as a trick.

There appeared little criticism of Arafat's unilateral commitment to halt armed attacks against Israeli targets, Hanna said.

But it has been made clear that Palestinians have a perceived right to continue the intifada or uprising with the aim of achieving an end to Israeli occupation, he added.

In eight months of violence, more than 480 Palestinians have died and nearly 110 Israelis.