Israel accepts peace deal but has reservations

Israel today accepted a US ceasefire proposal aimed at ending eight months of fighting with the Palestinians but appears to have little confidence in its success.

The Palestinians said they would give their reply later today, but they too were not happy.

Four hours of ‘‘stormy’’ talks with US negotiator George Tenet failed to bridge gaps between the two sides.

Raanan Gissin, a close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Israel has concerns about the wording of the American proposal to get peace talks back on track, but accepts it.

’’Despite our reservations, we accept the proposal as it is,’’ Gissin said.

He warned, however, that any violence after a ceasefire would mean a cooling off period, an Israeli requirement before progressing on the political track, would have to begin again.

The Palestinians were submitting their formal, written response to CIA chief Tenet later today.

Jibril Rajoub, Palestinian security chief of the West Bank, said the Americans had not dealt with Palestinian reservations about setting a timetable for an Israeli commitment on lifting a security closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

’’The American suggestions could be summarised in one point, which is that the Palestinian Authority has to arrest a number of wanted people for Israel,’’ Rajoub said.

The Palestinians, he said, refused to agree to carrying out such arrests before the closure is lifted. Rajoub described the four hour meeting as ‘‘stormy.’’

Rajoub said proposals discussed Monday night fell outside measures outlined in the Mitchell commission report, which lays out security and other measures for the two sides that were intended to get the peace process back on track.

For the first time in more than a week, Israeli F-16 warplanes today carried out manoeuvres in skies over Gaza, flying at a high level, then dipping low and breaking the sound barrier with sonic booms a Palestinian security described as a ‘‘mock air raid.’’

The last overflight in the area was a week ago. An Israeli army spokesperson said such flights are part of routine manoeuvres and refused to discuss details.