Peres to meet with Palestinians; bomb wounds 20

Peres, left, and Sharon talk before a weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Despite objections to "negotiating under fire," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday authorized his foreign minister to hold talks with some Palestinian officials in hopes of securing a cease-fire.

Israeli political sources told CNN that Sharon gave Foreign Minister Shimon Peres approval to hold talks with Palestinian officials -- but not with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat -- if accompanied by an Israeli general.

No further details were available.

The U.S.-brokered Mitchell Committee report called for both sides to honor a cease-fire, but neither side has agreed on how to implement temporary peace. And violence wracked the region again this weekend, including a bombing Sunday outside a cafe near Haifa.

VIDEO CNN's Jerrold Kessel in Jerusalem reports on what could result from Israeli actions (August 12) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Israelis block Palestinians from Orient House in wake of suicide bombing. CNN's Ben Wedeman reports (August 11) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • Annan urges Israel to end 'occupation'   • In focus: Suicide bombers heroes at home   • Israel, PLO welcome delay in closing of Orient House (1999)     EXTRA INFORMATION In-depth: Mideast struggle for peace     RESOURCES Message Board: Mideast peace

The blast killed the suspected bomber and wounded another 20 people. Police said none of the injuries were serious, in part because the bomb was detonated in an area outside the restaurant.

According to news reports from Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, the second in four days.

The Israeli government holds the Palestinian Authority leadership responsible for continued violence in the region and has responded to suicide bombings by targeting its facilities.

Sunday's bombing followed a Thursday suicide attack at a pizzeria in Tel Aviv that killed 16, including the bomber.

Israel responded by leveling the Palestinian Authority's West Bank police headquarters with a missile strike and by seizing Orient House, unofficial headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization and a potent symbol of the Palestinians' aspirations for an independent state.

Peres opposed the Israeli move against Orient House and told the Israeli Cabinet that Israel should drop its policy of refusing to talk while under fire. Without talking to the Palestinians, Peres said, there was no serious chance of restarting peace talks.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported a Palestinian girl was shot in the head and killed Sunday in her house in the West Bank town of Hebron during a gunfight nearby. Hospital sources said the girl was 7.

The Israeli Army said two border police were lightly injured from Palestinian fire in Hebron. Israeli troops returned fire.