RAMALLAH, West Bank, 5 June — CIA chief George Tenet yesterday met with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and discussed the plan on the security forces presented by Arafat, as Israeli forces moved back into the West Bank towns of Hebron and Jenin, killing a teenager. The army stormed the Palestinian zone of Hebron, firing stun grenades as it moved in, imposing a curfew and closing down shops, witnesses said.
The operation followed an incident in which two Israelis were wounded, one seriously, when their truck overturned after being stoned by Palestinians near the city. And a Palestinian teenager was shot dead after troops raided a village near Hebron. The army said one of its patrols was later stoned by Palestinian youths in the area.
The latest violence erupted as Tenet held more than two hours of talks with the Palestinian leader who, aides said, urged the US spy master to do all he could to curb Israeli raids. Arafat presented a plan on streamlining his security forces to Tenet during talks on reforms. "He (Tenet) came to evaluate the rebuilding of the security branches and the situation on the ground as part of American efforts to move in parallel on security and political tracks," Nabil Abu Rudeina told reporters.
Tenet is on a mission to reshape the Palestinian police and militias in a bid to cut down on persistent attacks on Israel. He met late Monday with the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has said there can be no peace talks until sweeping reforms are carried out and all attacks cease.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who visits the United States this week, proposed in an interview published yesterday the declaration of a Palestinian state before negotiations on the final borders. The New York Times, which interviewed Mubarak in Cairo on Monday, said the Egyptian leader would press US President George W. Bush during his upcoming visit to support declaring the Palestinian state early next year.
