U.S. works to break Palestinian-Israeli stalemate

All hopes pinned on Powell-Arafat meeting

Gunfire was reported at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem's Manger Square

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- U.S. officials are working through the night, trying to break the Palestinian-Israeli stalemate that threatened to end Secretary of State Colin Powell's nine-day trip to the Middle East with little to show for his efforts.

Powell is set to meet Wednesday in the West Bank with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his besieged Ramallah compound before leaving for Cairo to brief Egyptian officials on Powell's mission.

"It's hard to see how we can claim victory at this point," one U.S. official said as members of Powell's delegation tried to secure a cease-fire commitment from Arafat, as well as the surrender of men Israel says are in Arafat's compound.

Israel officials have identified those men as the assassins of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi, killed last October. They also want Arafat to hand over Fouad Shobaki, a top Palestinian official the Israelis believe is responsible for the attempted smuggling of weapons on the ship Karine-A earlier this year.

IN-DEPTH  CNN NewsPass Video    •  Palestinian politics  MORE STORIES   •  IDF: Arms workshops destroyed in Rafah  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Gallery: Palestinian fatalities  RESOURCES   •  Victims of terror   •  TIME.com: Orchestrating a common ground  Powell's itinerary: April 8: Powell begins his trip in Morocco, meeting with King Mohammed VI and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. April 9: Powell meets with Egyptian leaders in Cairo. April 10: Powell meets with European Union leaders in Spain. April 11: Powell stops in Jordan and meets with the country's king and Cabinet. April 12: Powell meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Suicide bomber kills 6 in Jerusalem. April 14: Powell meets with Arafat in Ramallah, West Bank, and with Sharon in Tel Aviv. April 15: Powell meets with officials in Lebanon and Syria. April 16: Powell meets with Sharon. April 17: Powell to meet with Arafat. Powell to travel to Cairo, Egypt, before returning to Washington.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said Israeli troops would stay in Ramallah until the men give up. The Palestinians, meanwhile, have said they will not negotiate until Israeli troops pull out of the West Bank.

Powell met with Sharon on Tuesday. It was their third meeting since Powell's arrival in Jerusalem last week.

The secretary also met with Israeli opposition political figures who have been critical of Sharon's tough stance.

Powell pressured Sharon for a "road map" for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.

"He didn't get very far," one official said. "Powell pressed him, but Sharon did not give him all that many more details."

A U.S. official said the United States is not using the word cease-fire in negotiations with the Palestinians because it remains unclear "how much we can get." If a cease-fire isn't possible, he said, "we will settle for anything in a positive vein. We would rather have something that is not called a cease-fire than a cease-fire nobody listens to."

The official said everything hinges on how much Powell can achieve with Arafat on Wednesday in their second meeting.

"All hopes and expectations are pinned on Powell's meeting with Arafat," said the official. "All should become clear after we know what he is prepared to do."

Gunfire in Bethlehem

Meanwhile, the fighting continued Tuesday, as gunfire was reported outside the Church of the Nativity Tuesday night in Bethlehem, West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The IDF said it had not entered the church and was not attacking it. Palestinian security sources said IDF soldiers had thrown what were believed to be tear gas grenades inside the south entrance of the church, at the Franciscan Monastery.

They said the area was on fire, with IDF forces firing with machine guns.

The IDF confirmed that its troops were conducting operations in the area and said the shooting was coming from a number of sources.

About 200 Palestinians are holed up in the church, including 30 that Israel says are terrorists.

Sharon said Monday that Israel had agreed with the United States on a plan to end the standoff at the church.

However, a U.S. official said Tuesday night that the plan was "not going well."

Under the plan, the Palestinians would give up their weapons. Those whom Israel has not accused of terrorist activity would be freed. Those Israel has accused of terrorism would have the choice of facing trial in Israel or accepting lifetime exile in a third country.

Elsewhere, the IDF said, Israeli troops withdrew from the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The IDF said it went into the town overnight to make arrests. Witnesses earlier reported seeing at least 20 tanks and two helicopter gun ships enter the town firing simultaneously.

The IDF said one of four Palestinians arrested at Tulkarem -- Nasser Yetima -- was involved in the Passover hotel suicide bombing March 27 in Netanya, Israel, that killed 28 people.

The IDF said Yetima was told by his handlers to get explosives hidden in a women's bathroom in a mosque in Tulkarem and give them to the Netanya bomber. The IDF said Yetima also took photos of the bomber before he left to carry out his attack.

IDF troops on Tuesday entered the East Jerusalem suburbs of Abu Dis and Izzariyeh and declared curfews, Palestinian sources said. Israeli military sources said the Israel Defense Forces went into the neighborhoods because of reports that terror attacks were going to be launched from there. Soldiers could be seen on the street, questioning Palestinians and searching houses.