Israeli killed; Palestinian youth dies of injuries

Relatives mourn over the body of a 12 year-old Palestinian boy at the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza on Monday

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli was gunned down in the West Bank Monday night, and a Palestinian youth who was shot Sunday died, Israeli and Palestinian officials said, as the ceasefire between the two sides held onto a thread.

A 20-year-old Israeli was shot in the neck and killed in an ambush on the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities.

Earlier Monday, Israeli police said Jewish settler Dan Yehuda was killed and another settler was wounded in the West Bank near Nablus.

Police also said that earlier Monday they found and detonated two bombs in Haifa, Israel.

"We demand from (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat that he arrest immediately all the terrorists who are loose now," Avi Pazner, an Israeli government spokesman, said Monday.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society, meanwhile, said that a 13-year-old who had been injured during a clash with Israeli soldiers Sunday night in Khan Yunis died Monday night. On Sunday, the society said a 9-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by a bullet in the chest fired by the Israeli army in Khan Yunis in Gaza, near a Jewish settlement. He was buried Monday.

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The incidents were reported as security commanders for the Israelis and the Palestinians prepared for talks Monday night on the implementation of a cease-fire plan presented to both sides by U.S. CIA Director George Tenet.

The Israeli army said dozens of young Palestinian men had gathered Sunday in Gaza along the border fence that separates Khan Yunis from settlements in Gush Katif. The Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails, damaging the fence, the army said.

In response, Israeli soldiers started shooting tear gas and, when that failed to disperse the crowd, fired at the legs of the participants and hit at least one Palestinian youngster, the army said.

Meanwhile, Arafat accused Israel of not carrying out its commitments to the current cease-fire between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"We face Israeli escalation," Arafat said. "The siege has gotten worse and escalation of violence has increased. But our people are patient and willing to struggle."

Arafat made the comments in Jordan on Monday before a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers, who were in the Jordanian capital to follow up on support they pledged for the Palestinians in the Middle East conflict.

The ministers, representing eight Arab states and the Palestinian Authority, have been meeting periodically to search for ways to provide both financial and political support for the Palestinians.

Arafat told the representatives that he was not optimistic about the current state of the conflict, saying it was very dangerous and could spin "out of our control."

He said the cease-fire won't last on its own if Israel does not stop its settlement activities and does not lift the closure on Palestinian territories. He accused the Israeli army of protecting settlers who continue attacks on Palestinians.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat

Arafat appealed to the world community to put pressure on Israel to bring the cease-fire a step further and said he would like to see international observers oversee the implementation of the truce.

The last time the foreign ministers met, in May, they recommended that all 22 league members suspend political contacts with Israel as long as it continued its "aggression and occupation."

Arafat called the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "war-crazed" and insisted it is not serious about resuming peace talks.

Sharon -- who Monday visited a settler family whose baby died in a West Bank stoning incident the day before the cease-fire -- is resisting pressure from some settlers to unleash Israel's military might.

Sharon told his Likud party faction in the Knesset that he wouldn't yield to demands to "go to war." But referring to the Mitchell report, which calls for a six-week cooling-off period before any political moves, Sharon insisted that a countdown could not begin until all violence stops.

Israel, meanwhile, has allowed Palestinian traffic to flow freely on two key West Bank thoroughfares where Israeli troops previously maintained tight blockades.

Correspondents Rula Amin and Jerrold Kessel contributed to this report