Israeli troops today killed a Palestinian woman and her two children in the West Bank. The Israeli army said it was a mistake.
Israel Radio said the women and children were running away in fright after a roadside bomb exploded against an armoured patrol. The soldiers had mistaken them for fighters fleeing the scene, it said.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon headed to the United States today to take his idea of peace to President George W. Bush after Israel's crushing military offensive against Palestinian targets in the West Bank.
In Bethlehem, negotiators pressed on with talks to end the Israeli army's siege of Palestinian gunmen inside the Church of the Nativity - a stand-off which prevented Orthodox Christians from celebrating Easter Sunday in the holy shrine.
Both sides were considering a US proposal for an international conference to bring them back to the negotiating table and halt the violence that flared when a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out 19 months ago.
Mr Sharon was booked for a Tuesday meeting with Mr Bush, who reiterated strong US support for Israel this week, but also said he backed the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Mr Sharon gave an assurance on US television he would lay out a serious plan, maybe the most serious at his fifth meeting with the US president.
Israeli political sources indicated the plan mirrored his previous proposal for a long term interim arrangement that would leave Israeli settlements in place in Palestinian areas -an idea that clashes with the Palestinian drive for sovereignty.
Mr Bush has accused Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat of not doing enough to crack down on militants and has not invited him to the White House.
On a different diplomatic path, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mr Ahmed Maher held talks with Mr Arafat in Ramallah in the West Bank today. Mr Maher, whose country has often mediated in Arab-Israeli talks, said yesterday Israel must withdraw from re-occupied Palestinian areas before there could be any discussion of a peace conference.
Mr Arafat warned of a resumption of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territories, in an interview broadcast today on Egyptian television.
Following the Israeli offensive against the West Bank launched in late March, the Israelis "now say there remains new stages to operation Defensive Shield," Mr Arafat said in the interview from his headquarters in Ramallah.
In a surprise move on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell said Washington was preparing for an international conference this summer to take advantage of a window of opportunity opened by the end of Mr Arafat's confinement in his Ramallah headquarters.
The White House later tried to discourage high expectations, saying only ministers would attend the conference, and it would probably not propose a final settlement.
Mr Arafat welcomed the proposed forum, but said he wanted to consult with Arab leaders before giving his final acceptance. Israeli officials said Mr Sharon would seek more details from Mr Bush during their talks.
Arab League foreign ministers were to meet in Cairo this coming week to follow up on a Saudi-inspired plan offering Israel normal relations if it withdraws from lands occupied in 1967, accepts a Palestinian state and the right of return of refugees.