U.S. withdraws Mideast envoy; 4 more killed in fighting

Palestinian Authority cracks down on Hamas, Islamic Jihad

Zinni has been in the region, meeting with Palestinian and Israeli officials, since November.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States recalled its top Mideast envoy back to Washington for consultations Saturday as violence continued in northern Gaza and Palestinian officials worked to curtail terror attacks.

Anthony Zinni, the retired Marine general appointed last month to bring Israeli and Palestinian officials back to the peace table, was to return from the region to confer with President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, the State Department said Saturday.

A statement from department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "General Zinni will remain engaged and return to the region."

Also Saturday, the Palestinian Authority closed three offices and institutions of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Ramallah and 10 more in the West Bank. The crackdown, an effort to halt acts of terror against Israelis, will continue Sunday, a Palestinian security official said.

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Meanwhile, four Palestinians died fighting an Israeli incursion into Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Elsewhere in Gaza, an Israeli helicopter fired missiles on a Palestinian police station in Jabaliya, a refugee camp. Officials had no immediate word on casualties.

Zinni had said earlier that he would remain in the Mideast until he had secured a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians, but has been unable to bring the two sides together for talks since he was dispatched to the region in November.

Confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians have escalated rapidly since then, prompting a crackdown after suicide bombings killed 25 Israelis on the weekend of December 1-2. Israel broke contact with Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat after another suicide bombing Wednesday that killed 10 people.

Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, blamed Zinni's recall on continued Palestinian attacks.

"The wave of terrorism that we've had since he arrived contributed to the fact that he could not bring his mission to a successful end," Gissin said. But he said the Israeli government "supported his mission from the beginning, and we support the continuation of his mission."

Hamas, Islamic Jihad targeted

In a show of support for peace, the Palestinian Authority late Saturday moved against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, militant groups that have taken credit for recent suicide bombings against Israelis. It shuttered 13 offices.

The campaign against Hamas will continue Sunday elsewhere in Gaza and the West Bank, and keeps the promise the Palestinians Authority gave to U.S. officials to work to halt acts of terror, a Palestinian security official said.

The closures follow orders Wednesday from Arafat to shut down the organizations after an attack Tuesday on an Israeli bus in the West Bank killed 10 people and injured 30 more.

In a speech scheduled for Sunday at noon (5 a.m. EST), Arafat is to call for a halt to armed clashes and endorse a peaceful settlement, the official said.

Meanwhile, Palestinian and Israeli officials said they hoped Zinni returns to the Mideast. Arafat sent a letter to President Bush, urging Zinni to continue his efforts to help both sides implement the recommendations of the Mitchell report, Palestinian sources said.

The report, issued in May by a commission headed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, calls for an immediate cease-fire by both sides and a resumption of joint security cooperation.

Violence, demonstrations

Palestinian protesters carry a wounded stone-thrower during clashes with Israeli troops in Beit Hanoun on Saturday.

Zinni's recall underscored the continuing violence in the region. Israeli troops killed four Palestinian protesters in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Palestinian medics said Saturday. Another 48 people were injured, four critically, hospital sources said.

Another Palestinian died when an explosive charge he was carrying detonated on the Green Line separating Israel from the West Bank, Israeli police said. A sixth was killed in southern Gaza when a man tried to enter the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif. The man had explosives strapped to his body, Israeli military officials said.

In Beit Hanoun, which Israeli authorities call a center of Hamas activity, thousands of demonstrators challenged what witnesses described as 30 tanks and armored vehicles that entered the town Saturday. The Israeli army characterized the armored movement as part of its continuing crackdown on terrorist activities in Gaza and the West Bank.

Troops blocked off parts of Beit Hanoun, searched buildings and detained five Palestinians before withdrawing Saturday night. Hamas was planning attacks and was also firing against Israeli positions, military officials said.

Friday, a Palestinian on Israel's wanted list was killed and 35 others were arrested in raids on three villages in the West Bank. A total of eight Palestinians died in those raids and in a clash with an Israeli security patrol near Hebron. Israeli warplanes also struck Palestinian Authority targets Friday night in Gaza for the third night in a row.

Arab League foreign ministers are expected to meet Thursday in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss the escalating unrest in the region, an Arab League official said Saturday on condition of anonymity.

-- CNN's Kelly Wallace, Matthew Chance, Chris Burns, Rula Amin and Sausan Ghosheh contributed to this report.