Israeli girl killed after truce meeting fails

Palestinian gunmen firing across the West Bank line killed a seven-year-old Israeli girl and wounded another, just minutes after the Palestinian prime minister finished a meeting with leaders of militant groups, failing to persuade them to stop attacks.

The shooting late on Tuesday threatened to ignite another round of attacks and retaliation, further endangering the already wobbly “road map” peace plan.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is heading for the region over the weekend for high-level talks aimed at salvaging the internationally sponsored peace plan, two weeks after President George Bush launched it at a summit in Jordan with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers.

But the death of the seven-year-old Israeli girl in the shooting attack drew an Israeli threat of retaliation. Israeli government official Zalman Shoval said it showed that alongside peace efforts, “our own battle with the terrorists will have to continue”.

The shooting took place on a highway just inside Israel, close to the West Bank town of Qalqiliya. The military said the gunfire came from the West Bank. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The week after the launch of the three-phase “road map” plan on June 4, was marked by Israeli air strikes and a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem, killing and wounding dozens of both sides.

Until the motorway ambush, however, there had been four days of relative calm.

Before the shooting, the outline of a truce deal was taking shape in intensive talks being held by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza, but there was no guarantee that either the militants or Israel would agree to the elements

Sources close to the talks said a key plank would be an Israeli pledge to stop targeting militant leaders for killing. Also, Hamas and other violent groups demanded that Israel release thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

In exchange, the militants would declare a “hudna,” the Arabic term for temporary ceasefire. Israelis say the concept ensures a resumption of hostilities, with the militant groups rearmed and reinforced.

However, Israel TV reported yesterday that Israel would accept a cease-fire of three to six weeks. Israeli officials were not available to comment.

Abbas held three hours of talks late on Tuesday in Gaza with leaders of the militant groups, but no accord emerged. Participants said talks would continue in various combinations of groups.

Powell, speaking as he flew to Cambodia for a meeting of South-East Asian leaders, lent support to Israel’s demand for a crackdown on Hamas.

Ultimately, Hamas and other terrorist organisations “will not only have to stop these terrorist attacks.

We have to eliminate their capability to do so,” he said. “We have to come down hard on organisations such as Hamas.”