Abbas-Sharon aides try to salvage key summit

A deadlock over Israeli troop withdrawals in the West Bank and further releases of Palestinian prisoners clouded prospects today that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas would meet this week for the first time since Israel’s Gaza Strip pullout.

On the Gaza-Israel border, meanwhile, Israeli troops shot dead three Palestinians who had crawled toward the security border fence with a bag. The army said it didn’t know what was in the bag, but Palestinian security officials said the three were unarmed.