Gunmen kill Israeli in West Bank as Peres and Arafat meet in Spain

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Suspected Palestinian gunmen killed one Israeli and wounded another in the West Bank on Friday, and about 3,000 Palestinians marched in a funeral procession for two militants whose car was attacked by Israeli helicopters.

The gunmen shot the Israelis at close range on the road near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah, an army spokesman said. The army said the attackers escaped.

The shooting came as Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met in Spain for the first time since Sept. 26, when the two leaders met and called for a cease-fire to stop a year of conflict. The truce never took hold.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, about 3,000 people marched in a funeral procession Friday for two activists from the Hamas militant group, killed Thursday when Israeli helicopters fired rockets at their car. Israel said the two were planning a suicide bomb attack inside Israel.

Standing on a car, Fayek Abu Eisha, the young son of one of the dead Hamas activists, shouted into a microphone, "I will avenge the blood of my father."

Meanwhile, Israel continued to hold parts of four West Bank towns taken after Palestinian militants assassinated ultranationalist Cabinet minister Rehavam Zeevi on Oct. 17: Ramallah, Tulkarem, Jenin and Qalqilya.

Israeli officials wouldn't confirm a report in Friday's Yediot Ahronot newspaper that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wanted to stage the next pullout at the start of next week, provided the Palestinian areas remained calm.

However, Sharon aide Raanan Gissin said Israel had offered to leave Ramallah next – provided security was assured. It wasn't clear if Friday's shooting would alter the Israeli offer.

"The situation in Jenin and Tulkarem is more problematical than Ramallah," said government spokesman Danny Seaman. "Arafat is in control in Ramallah."

In 13 months of fighting, 738 people have been killed on the Palestinian side and 192 on the Israeli side.

AP-WS-11-02-01 1533EST