OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 30 May — Three Israelis and three Palestinians, including a suicide bomber, were killed in a day of bloody violence yesterday that threatened to overshadow a US-brokered security meeting aimed at quelling the deadly conflict. Israeli and Palestinian security officials began talks in the West Bank town of Ramallah at around 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) for the first time in a month following two days of shuttle diplomacy by US Middle East envoy William Burns to push for a cease-fire.
But in the West Bank, three Israelis, including a teenage girl, were shot dead in drive-by attacks only hours apart and a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces at a checkpoint outside the self-rule town of Jericho. Another two Palestinians were killed in attacks against Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, one of them a suicide bombing, the army said.
Russia, meanwhile, moved to expand its role in the Middle East, with the announcement by Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov during a visit to Moscow by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that it will send a special envoy to the region in a bid to revive the peace process. “We are waiting for the help of the international community. It is very important that all the efforts (of Russia, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and other Arab countries) are coordinated to take action as quickly as possible,” said Arafat.
Ivanov said after a meeting with Arafat that Russia would send its own special envoy, Vasily Sredin, to the Middle East next week. Arafat joined the Russian leadership in backing an international package of measures to halt the Middle East conflict, but warned of a major escalation of the crisis if they are not implemented swiftly. Delays in efforts to contain the situation “will spark an explosion both in Palestine and all over the region”, Arafat said. “We await from Russia swift and decisive steps to get the process back on a peaceful track,” he said as he began talks with President Putin and Ivanov.
Israel, meanwhile, defied the mediation efforts by the United States and Russia by declaring its plan to construct more than 700 housing units in the West Bank. The Israeli announcement hampered the efforts of both the US and Russia to end violence and revive the peace process.
