Six Killed In West Bank Violence

Six Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed amid new violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said a unit came under fire in the northern West Bank. It said a soldier was killed along with two Hamas activists.

It identifies one of the two as a leader in the organization's military wing in Nablus. Israel said he was wanted for direct responsibility in attacks on Israelis.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops have left most Palestinian areas but still occupy Ramallah and Bethlehem. A U.S. envoy met with Yasser Arafat Monday to try to break the standoff with Israeli troops there.

Israeli police said they're holding 10 international activists who were arrested walking out of Arafat's headquarters. A police spokesman says they'll be expelled Wednesday.

Siege May Be Ending At Church Of The Nativity

There may be new hope for an end to the standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The Palestinian mayor said talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials aimed at solving the church crisis are set for Tuesday morning.

There was supposed to be a meeting earlier this week, but it was canceled, and each side blamed the other.

For three weeks, armed Palestinians have been holed up inside the church, built on the spot that is considered the birthplace of Jesus.

The Israeli army said there are about 230 people in the church with weapons and about 50 unarmed civilians, along with about 35 priests, monks and nuns.

There was no sign that tensions were easing Monday. Heavy gunfire broke out once again, and religious leaders reported that the crisis was getting worse.

Israel has promised Christian leaders that it won't storm the church.

Israel Accused Of Violating Human Rights

International human rights groups on Monday accused Israel of violating international humanitarian laws during combat in the Jenin refugee camp this month.

An International Committee of the Red Cross official said Israel committed several offenses during its eight-day siege in the West Bank town, where, Palestinians say, a massacre occurred. The United Nations is appointing a commission to investigate.

At the same time, Amnesty International officials say they have evidence of human rights abuses by Israeli forces in the camp, including the possibility of using Palestinian detainees as human shields.

However, Amnesty International officials say their search turned up no evidence of any mass graves. Palestinians accuse Israel of killing hundreds -- perhaps even 500 -- of people, including scores of civilians, during the campaign.

To Israel, the Jenin camp was a haven for gunmen and weapons makers, a spawning ground for about 20 suicide bombings that killed or maimed scores of Israelis since September 2000, when the second Palestinian Intifada began.

The Red Cross did not specify which laws allegedly were violated, but an official held up a copy of the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the treatment of civilians in a war zone.

Israeli officials accuse the Red Cross of a pro-Palestinian bias.

On April 18, a U.N. official called Jenin a "disaster zone," saying he found the site of the bulldozed buildings and exposed bodies "horrifying beyond belief." (Full story).

Iraq: Arabs Should Cut Oil Exports To U.S.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is urging Arab countries to cut off oil sales to the United States and Israel.

Saddam also says the Arabs should cut their exports in half.

But Arab nations are unlikely to heed Saddam's call. They did not go along with him a few weeks ago when he announced he was cutting off Iraq's oil exports for 30 days to pressure Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories.

In a nationally televised address, Saddam scoffed at Arabs who say oil is not a weapon.

"If oil is not a weapon while we have it, what else can we use to face the ambitious powers?"

But many Persian Gulf nations depend on oil revenues for more than two-thirds of government income and cannot afford to stop sales.

U.S. Envoy Completes Arafat Meeting

A State Department official met for two hours Monday with Yasser Arafat in the Palestinian leader's besieged West Bank compound in Ramallah.

U.S. envoy William Burns is trying to resolve the standoffs in Ramallah and Bethlehem that are keeping Israeli and Palestinian officials from returning to the negotiating table. The meeting also covered truce prospects and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

Arafat agreed to third-party mediation for a standoff negotiations in the two West Bank cities.

Arafat and about 300 aides, guards and foreign volunteers have been confined to several rooms in his headquarters since March 29, when Israel launched its offensive to crack down on what it calls elements of terrorism.

There's speculation inside the compound that Israeli forces might try to break in and snatch six wanted men.

An Israeli military commentator confirms hints of a possible Israeli invasion of the compound and removal of Arafat.

Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo accused Israel of having a hidden agenda to destroy the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, the sound of gunfire and exploding stun grenades indicated the standoff in Bethlehem is far from being resolved.

Israeli forces and armed Palestinians holed up inside the Church of the Nativity continued their three-week face-off.

Israel Defense Forces officials and Palestinian military representatives both blamed the other for firing first.

Israeli officials say there are about 230 armed Palestinians inside the church, along with 35 clergy members and about 50 unarmed Palestinian civilians.

Peres: No Civilian Massacres In West Bank

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said there were no civilian massacres in the West Bank.

Peres, a former Israeli prime minister, was cheered during a Washington speech to a pro-Israel lobbying group when he said, "The soldiers got orders to respect civilian life and every civilian person, and they did so."

Peres said three Palestinian civilians and 47 Palestinian fighters died in Jenin, where the heaviest fighting took place since Israel's offensive in the West Bank began March 29. He said 23 Israeli soldiers died in the camp.

Earlier Sunday, Peres said Yasser Arafat can stop the violence despite his confinement in Ramallah. Israeli forces still have the Palestinian leader locked down in his security headquarters.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said loosening the grip on Arafat would put him in a better position to clamp down on attacks against Israelis.

Suspected Informers Shot In West Bank

Three suspected Palestinian informers for Israel have been shot by militiamen in a downtown Ramallah square.

Witnesses said five masked men pulled the alleged informers from their car and shot them in the legs. The gunmen shouted that they're from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade as they fled the scene. That's a militia linked to Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

Witnesses said a large crowd was surrounding the wounded men as bystanders tried to prevent ambulances from rescuing them. Doctors said all three are alive but one is in critical condition.

The gunmen accuse the three men of helping Israel locate Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti -- who was seized from his hideout by Israeli forces last week.

Israel: Assault 'Virtually Over'

A State Department official is meeting with Arafat to try to resolve two West Bank standoffs holding up cease-fire talks.

The Palestinians say they won't start truce talks until Israeli forces withdraw from Palestinian lands. But Israel wants gunmen to surrender at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, and at the Palestinian leader's Ramallah headquarters.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he won't even talk about dismantling isolated Jewish settlements for at least 18 months.

Senior army officers had proposed dismantling some outposts to ease the burden on Israeli troops guarding them.

Sharon's position further damages chances for a peace deal. Eliminating settlements is seen as a requirement for Palestinian statehood.

Sharon said the assault on the West Bank is virtually over.

Troops withdrew from Nablus and most of Ramallah on Sunday.

Israel demands that Arafat hand over the suspected assassins of the Israeli tourism minister, who was gunned down in a Jerusalem hotel Oct. 17.

Pleas from the Vatican and attempts at negotiations have failed to end the standoff in Bethlehem. About 200 gunmen fled into the fortress-like church compound on April 2. Church leaders said monks and nuns are also inside the church and they're running out of food and clean water.