Israeli missile strike and militant arrests mar leaders’ summit

THE arrest of 52 Islamic Jihad militants and a missile strike in the Gaza Strip overshadowed the first meeting yesterday between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders since a February truce.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia later said that the summit had been difficult and had not met Palestinian expectations.

Israel has been scornful of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s strategy for reining in extremists, which favour persuasion over confrontation, and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was expected to demand the Palestinian leader take aggressive action against militants.