The Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's call for a time-out in peacemaking. Mr Barak's call came after Arab leaders meeting in Egypt, used what he called threatening language against Israel. Mr Arafat responded by saying that his people were continuing the road to Jerusalem, the capital of an independent Palestinian state and anyone blocking their path could, as he put it, "go to hell".
Mr Barak's decision to call a time-out was criticised heavily by Palestinian negotiators. They accused the Israeli leader of showing a complete disregard for the Arab world and the peace process. In his statement this afternoon, Mr Barak did not say when the time-out would take place but added that his decision would not mean that Israel was abandoning its peace efforts. More than 120 people, mostly Palestinians, have now been killed in the violence.
Arab leaders ended their two-day meeting by adopting resolutions condemning Israel over the violence in the Palestinian territories. However, they agreed not to sever ties with Israel and stopped short of calling on Egypt and Jordan to cut their diplomatic ties with Israel.
The leaders called on the United Nations to set up an international force to protect Palestinians and a tribunal to try Israelis for recent killings. They also urged the UN to establish an international tribunal to try what they called Israeli "war criminals" responsible for recent killings. Almost £1bn in aid will be given to the Palestinians.
Reports from the Middle East today say that four Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed today during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza. The deaths came on the day that thousands of Palestinians marched through Gaza, calling on Mr Arafat to keep up the pressure on Israel and lead them towards an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
