Arafat seeks return to talks

The Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, appealed yesterday for an end to armed attacks against Israel and a return to peace talks. But his televised address marking the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday is unlikely to convince the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, or Palestinian militants disillusioned with 10 years of fruitless negotiations.

"I today reiterate (a call for) the complete and immediate cessation of all military activities," Mr Arafat said in the broadcast. He last declared a ceasefire three months ago, but it was respected neither by Palestinians nor Israelis. "I renew the call to completely halt any activities, especially suicide attacks which we have always condemned," Mr Arafat added.

Mr Arafat spoke at the end of a violent weekend, when Israeli troops shot dead four Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, Haitham al-Kafarna, in the town of Beit Hanun near the Erez crossing point between Gaza and Israel. Since the intifada started 15 months ago, 1,102 people have been killed, approximately three-quarters of them Palestinians.

At least 50 Palestinians were wounded in Beit Hanun, after 30 Israeli tanks entered the town early on Saturday, firing heavy machine guns. Residents fought running street battles with the Israelis all day. The tanks withdrew after Israeli troops kidnapped more than 10 men they claimed were activists from the extremist group Hamas.

Israel continued its attacks on the occupied territories yesterday, firing two missiles into offices of Palestinian security forces in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza City.

Washington chose this time of intense crisis to recall its Middle East peace envoy, Gen Anthony Zinni. His three-week stay in Israel and the occupied territories was a total failure, with more than 100 people being killed while he tried to arrange a ceasefire.

Mr Sharon's government broke off all contact with the Palestinian Authority on December 13th, after a suicide bomber killed 10 Israeli settlers, saying Mr Arafat was "irrelevant". But the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, told CNN he would continue to talk to Mr Arafat.

Earlier, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have sent international monitors to the Israeli-occupied territories - a step the Palestinians have long requested, but which the Israelis oppose. The US ambassador to the UN, Mr John Negroponte, said the resolution "aimed to isolate Israeli politically" and that the Security Council was "not the proper forum" to deal with the conflict.

Mr Arafat's appeal came amid debate within Palestinian society over the wisdom of continuing the intifada. While promising to pursue Palestinians who break the ceasefire, he stressed the need for unity. He also warned Palestinians that the international mood had shifted since the September 11th attacks. "We have to understand international developments; what happened in New York, the fight against terror, the effect on our rights," he said.

Abdel Bar Atwain, the Palestinian editor-in-chief of Al-Quads al-Araby, said Mr Arafat's much-awaited speech contained nothing new. Had Mr Arafat received US assurances that Palestinians would obtain their state if they stopped suicide attacks, the appeal might have had some effect, Mr Atwain told the BBC. Palestinians knew that Mr Sharon had opposed every peace agreement, he added.