Israeli killed in W.Bank shooting ( 2003-09-04 13:15) (Agencies)
Palestinian gunmen opened
fire on Thursday on a group of Israelis near the West Bank city of Jenin,
killing one, Israeli security sources said.
The incident, the latest in a surge of violence in the nearly three-year
Palestinian uprising for independence, came hours before Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas was to demand new powers to advance peace talks with
Israel.
No other details were immediately available.
The U.S.-backed road map to end violence and pave the way to a Palestinian
state by 2005 has come close to collapse after a suicide bombing in Jerusalem
followed by Israel's killing of Palestinian militants, who ended a cease-fire
last month.
Rising conflict between Abbas and Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat has also stymied progress toward peace. Abbas has said his request
that parliament extend his powers is crucial to the future of the road map.
The prime minister, appointed by Arafat on April 30 under U.S. pressure, on
Thursday will address the 85-member parliament in the West Bank city of
Ramallah, where Arafat is confined by an Israeli siege to his headquarters.
