Sharon broaches cease-fire talks

Anthony Zinni meets Saturday with Ariel Sharon, left, after the U.S. envoy met with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon signaled an interest Saturday in pursuing cease-fire talks with the Palestinians after meeting with U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni.

Even as he indicated an interest in coordinating such talks, Sharon said that no three-way meeting with the Palestinians and Zinni had yet been scheduled.

"General Zinni will continue to consult with both sides regarding further steps," Sharon's office said in one of two statements it issued Saturday about the matter.

Palestinian Authority officials have repeatedly said they will not take part in any peace talks until Israel withdraws its forces from the areas in the West Bank and Gaza they occupied earlier this week in the largest military operation since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon -- incursions Israel describe as a means of rooting out the Palestinian "terrorist infrastructure."

Zinni, who arrived in Israel on Thursday on a diplomatic mission, met separately Saturday with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat before sitting down in the evening with Sharon at his farm in Negev, in southern Israel.

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Zinni described the meetings as "extremely positive" and said he believed both sides wanted peace.

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

The first statement issued by Sharon's office Saturday said the prime minister would seek to implement the security plan proposed last year by CIA Director George Tenet -- which calls for a cease-fire -- as the first step toward implementing the peace plan developed by a commission headed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.

"Tomorrow, a three-way meeting will be coordinated involving the 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," the initial statement from Sharon's office said.

But in a second statement, Sharon's office said the prime minister never meant to suggest that any meeting had been set up.

The possibility of a trilateral meeting -- however shaky -- could mark a breakthrough in the deadly violence between the Israelis and Palestinians, which over the past two weeks alone has claimed more than 150 lives.

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.

Dore Gold, a Sharon spokesman, told CNN that Israel was "willing to go the extra mile" for peace and that it was "up to the Palestinians" whether a cease-fire could succeed.

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."

Erakat said he believed Zinni was "exerting maximum efforts on both sides" but that a key Palestinian demand must be met: the removal of Israeli troops from Palestinian-controlled areas in the West Bank and Gaza.

"I think that's the main point of discussion with General Zinni in which the Palestinian side ... reiterated to General Zinni that we must reach an agreement through him with the Israelis to pull out of Palestinian areas," Erakat said.

Saturday night, Israeli forces remained in Bethlehem and some parts of Hebron, though they had pulled out of other West Bank towns.

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 said. "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 calls for Israeli withdrawal

Israeli officials said the operation, which followed a string of Palestinian attacks on Israeli military posts and terror attacks on Israeli civilians, was intended to root out terrorists.

The Israeli army said about 20,000 Israeli troops participated in the offensive.

Zinni met Thursday night with Sharon shortly after returning to the region and bluntly told him the United States wanted Israeli forces out of the Palestinian-controlled areas, U.S. sources said.

Hours later, Israeli troops began pulling back from several key Palestinian cities, including Ramallah, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Nablus and Jenin, but remained on the outskirts of each.

Arafat on Friday accused the Israelis of putting on a show for the U.S. envoy.

"They are trying to give only a picture for Zinni that they have left Ramallah," Arafat said. "What's the meaning of leaving Ramallah and they are still in all the other cities and towns and camps everywhere in Palestine? "

Sporadic violence continued in parts of the region overnight Friday. One Palestinian was killed in Hebron, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Israel Radio said he was killed in a firefight with Israeli forces after an Israeli soldier was injured by a Palestinian gunman.