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Palestinian Gunmen Wound Four Israelis

Posted on: Monday, 4 August 2003, 06:00 CDT

Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli car near Jerusalem, seriously wounding a mother and child, hours after Israel dismissed a Palestinian proposal to call a permanent cease-fire instead of disarming militant groups.

The attack happened late Sunday near an Israeli roadblock between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The military said the mother and a 9-year-old daughter were rushed to a hospital, while two other children were treated at the scene for cuts from broken glass.

In a phone call to The Associated Press, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the shooting.

The attack came just hours after Israel rejected a proposal by Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath for a permanent cease-fire. The deal would have halted attacks against Israelis, and not required the Palestinian leadership to crack down on militant groups as mandated by a U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

The shooting was the first Palestinian attack in the area since Israel turned Bethlehem back over to Palestinian security forces under terms of the peace plan, which calls on Israel to pull its forces out of Palestinian towns reoccupied during nearly three years of violence.

The Palestinian cease-fire offer was made in a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, officials on both sides said, but Shalom turned it down.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas refuses to order a crackdown on the militants, fearing a civil war. He prefers a negotiated end to violence, like the current truce.

Shaath said he told Shalom that further Israeli withdrawals from West Bank towns and other steps to allow Palestinians freedom of movement between towns could make it possible for the Palestinian government to negotiate a permanent cease-fire with the militants.

"Their reaction was that they were insistent that this is not enough, and they were insistent on the Palestinians dismantling the militant infrastructure," Shaath told The Associated Press.

A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Shaath and Shalom discussed a permanent cease-fire, though the official said the Palestinians made an outright offer of a permanent truce. He said Shalom rejected the idea.

Main Palestinian groups called a temporary cease-fire on June 29. Since then, violence has dropped significantly, but Israel accuses the militants of using the truce to rearm and prepare for a new wave of attacks.

After the Sunday shooting, Israeli official Raanan Gissin renewed the call for a "sustained, targeted, effective operations against those involved in terror operations."

Abbas plans to meet with Palestinian faction leaders in Gaza on Monday, officials said. He will report on his talks in Washington and discuss the future of the cease-fire, as well as concerns over Palestinian prisoners and charges of Israeli truce violations, they said.

An Israeli Cabinet committee on Sunday approved releasing about 440 Palestinian prisoners, officials said. They include members of the violent Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Media reports said the release is to begin Wednesday.

Palestinians have pressed for prisoner releases since the start of their truce, though it is not part of the "road map" plan. The Israeli decision is not likely to win Palestinian praise, since the Palestinians have been demanding freedom for about 3,000 of the approximately 7,700 prisoners Israel is holding. Israel refuses to free Palestinians involved in terror attacks.

The Israelis and Palestinians still had not resolved the issue of 17 militants who had refused to leave Arafat's compound despite an Israeli demand - and a request by Arafat - that they move to Palestinian custody in the quiet West Bank town of Jericho.

The militants struck a deal with the Palestinian leadership Sunday, and the militants were released without having to go to Jericho. A senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity that his government's demand has not changed.

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