US President Bill Clinton has been pressing ahead with diplomatic efforts to quell Israeli-Palestinian violence amid warnings that the crisis could spread. Mr Clinton spoke on the phone to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat. The White House said that the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, also briefed him on his diplomatic efforts on the ground.
The United States has not ruled out calling a summit of the leaders aimed at ending the violence that erupted 13 days ago. However officials said that no decision had been made and other options were also being considered. There was general agreement that the level of violence declined significantly yesterday.
Kofi Annan has urged Israel and the Palestinian authority to jointly study how the violence of the past fortnight occurred and to chart a way forward. Mr Annan was speaking after separate meetings with Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat. Yasser Arafat met Mr Annan this morning for a second round of talks aimed at ending a wave of violence in the Palestinian territories. The two men met for two hours last night in what Yasser Arafat described as "a very important meeting".
In another development, a nine-year-old Palestinian boy, shot in the head by Israeli troops in the south of the Gaza Strip, has been declared clinically dead. Sami Abu Jazar, whose age was initially given as 12, had been hit in the head by a live round during the clashes at Rafah. A photographer who witnessed the clashes said that the boy was standing some distance away and was taking no part in the stone-throwing against Israeli soldiers. He said that the boy had been wearing his school uniform.
Another 14 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli troops who fired rubber-coated bullets and live rounds, giving added impetus to desperate shuttle diplomacy by Kofi Annan and Igor Ivanov. Mr Annan has said that he is hopeful about bringing an end to the 13 days of violence between Palestinians and Israelis in which at least 90 people have been killed.
Earlier, Israel agreed to give Mr Arafat another three or four days to halt the violence which has so far claimed over 90 lives, mostly Palestinian. Prime Minister Ehud Barak told public radio this morning that his government had bowed to the requests of many world leaders in agreeing to extend the deadline, which expired last night. However, he reiterated his warning that if the violence does not end, it will mean that Yasser Arafat wants to abandon the seven-year peace process. Mr Arafat described the extension of the Israeli deadline as a threat.
Hard line opposition Likud leader, Ariel Sharon, whose visit to a disputed mosque compound in Jerusalem triggered the violence, said that the Government must be more aggressive in restoring order. Mr Barak has also softened his line on American efforts to get himself and Yasser Arafat to a summit, indicating that he would be prepared to attend such a meeting if it ensured an end to violence.
