Israel, Palestinians resume security talks

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- High-level talks between Israeli and Palestinian security officials resumed Wednesday night as both sides sat down to discuss prevention of terrorist attacks.

Few details were released on the meetings.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said only there were "contacts between the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel."

"I am not going to overplay these contacts, but the contacts are taking place and, as I said, reflect the need of both parties to resume negotiations," he said from Jericho.

Israel Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said Israel was prepared to pull out of West Bank flashpoints of Jenin and Nablus if the Palestinians cracked down against terrorists. He described both areas as the centers of "many of the terrorist acts."

"If they [Palestinians] will take it over, we shall immediately withdraw our forces," Peres said in Jerusalem where he met with delegates from the European Union.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell welcomed the resumption of direct security talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

"We have not given up hope," Powell said.

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Powell met with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana -- meetings that resulted in the United States and EU forging a common position in encouraging an end to violence between the Israelis and Palestinians.

The two sides said they are "united in our encouragement" to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to implement calls in his recent speech for an end to the suicide attacks "in order to get the violence down to a point where we can begin serious discussions toward a cease-fire."

Powell said the United States and EU were also "united in our desire to do everything we can and to encourage others to do all they can to ease the plight of the Palestinian people, who are existing in very, very difficult circumstances."

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon informed Powell Tuesday night of his intention to have Avi Dichter, head of Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service, resume the talks with Palestinian security officials.

Israel Radio said Sharon also complained to Powell that Arafat was "still giving a green light to terrorism."

Arafat has come under increasing pressure from the United States, Israel and Europe to crack down on terrorists in territory under Palestinian control since a string of December attacks killed 35 Israelis.

The terror bombings prompted the Israeli Cabinet to cut ties with Arafat and sanction retaliatory strikes on the West Bank and Gaza.

Tuesday night, the Palestinian Authority closed at least five Hamas and Islamic Jihad offices in the Palestinian territories. Arafat has not, however, outlawed the groups.

In addition, the Jerusalem newspaper Ha'aretz reported the Palestinian Authority had arrested 15 members of the Palestinian security forces on suspicion they participated in attacks on Israelis.

Arafat, speaking at his Ramallah headquarters in the West Bank, urged his supporters to remain resolute.

"Let the whole world know and hear that our strong people will defend this holy land with their blood, souls, properties and with everything they own because this land is the holy land and the land of strong people," the Palestinian leader said.

Meanwhile, the leadership of Hamas met Wednesday in Ramallah to debate whether to call off suicide attacks inside Israel, sources told CNN.

The sources said Hamas and other Palestinian groups that are not members of the Palestine Liberation Organization were present.

The sources said the policy under debate would end Hamas attacks only inside Israel and would not apply to Jewish settlements inside the Palestinian territories where more than 200,000 Israelis live.

Hamas is an Islamic fundamentalist group whose military wing, Izzedine al Quassam, carries out terrorist operations against Israelis. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel.