Israel agrees to meet with Palestinians, U.S.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is willing to meet Sunday with Palestinian representatives and U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni with the aim of brokering a cease-fire in the region and discussing a U.S.-conceived plan for peace, an Israeli official said Saturday.

Ra'anan Gissin, a senior aide to Sharon, said the prime minister will seek implementation of the security plan proposed last year by CIA Director George Tenet as the first step toward adopting the peace plan developed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.

"Tomorrow, a three-way meeting will be coordinated involving senior echelons of both sides, headed on the Israeli side by Ariel Sharon, for the purpose of bringing about a cease-fire and immediate implementation of the Tenet plan," Gissin said Saturday.

Tenet's plan calls for negotiating a cease-fire and urges Israeli and Palestinian security organizations to reaffirm commitments to agreements contained in the Mitchell report.

That report calls for a resumption of security cooperation, a halt to the construction of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, a denunciation of terrorism and resumption of peace talks.

The wording of Gissin's statement was key: Israel made clear it had scheduled no such meeting, but would simply seek to coordinate one. A second statement from the prime minister, issued late Saturday, said Zinni "will continue to consult with both sides regarding further steps."

For their part, the Palestinians remained firm in the position they had held all along -- that they would not talk about any substantive issues regarding a ceasefire while Israeli troops remain in Palestinian-controlled areas, site of a major Israeli offensive during the past week. Saturday night, Israeli forces remained in Bethlehem and some parts of Hebron, though they had pulled out of other West Bank towns.

In Washington, the Bush administration said only that talks were "off to a positive start" and that those discussions were continuing.

"Zinni met with both sides to discuss the whole range of issues related to Tenet implementation and a ceasefire," a State Department official told CNN. "The discussions on all possible next steps are continuing with both sides."

A senior adviser to Sharon, Dore Gold, said Israel would take the safety of its own citizens into account before withdrawing further.

"Any shift in deployment of Israeli forces is largely dependent on the security situation on the ground," Gold told CNN. "More importantly, a guarantee by the Palestinians to take responsibility for areas that Israel might eventually vacate -- that's part of the discussions we have to have."

Zinni, who arrived in Israel Thursday, met separately Saturday with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat before visiting with Sharon Saturday night at his farm in Negev, in southern Israel.

Before Sharon's announcement, Zinni had described his meetings as "extremely positive," adding he believed both sides wanted peace.

"I sense everyone is committed to get out of this terrible situation," he said. "I think in the next few days we can start on my mission and the implementation of the plan that we've brought."

After meeting with Zinni, Erakat said he believed the envoy was "exerting maximum efforts on both sides," but reiterated that the Palestinian demand for Israeli troop withdrawals must still be met.

Zinni had told Sharon after his arrival Thursday night the United States wants all Israeli forces to leave Palestinian-controlled areas, U.S. sources said.

Hours later, Israeli troops began pulling back from several key Palestinian cities, though sporadic violence has continued in the region over the weekend.

Israeli and Palestinian forces exchanged fire in Hebron overnight Saturday, for a second night in a row. A Palestinian man was killed during the firefight Friday night, the Palestine Red Crescent reported.

Overnight Saturday in Gaza, the Israeli Army said it opened fire on a group identified as a "terrorist cell" near Netzarim, killing two.