Palestinian lawmakers thwarted by Israelis

ISRAELI authorities yesterday barred 12 Palestinian lawmakers from travelling from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to attend a parliamentary session discussing democratic reforms sought by Israel and the United States.

The 88-member Legislative Council, the Palestinians' nascent parliament, is convening today in the West Bank town of Ramallah in a session expected to discuss sweeping reforms of Mr Arafat's self-rule authority.

Palestinian officials accused Israel of disrupting the political process by