Symbolic Deal, Real Violence

Israeli troops killed an armed Palestinian trying to flee in the West Bank town of Jenin on Tuesday, as violence persisted despite the launch of a symbolic agreement in Geneva meant to show both sides that peace was still possible.

It was the second West Bank raid in as many days after a relative lull. On Monday, Israeli troops killed three Hamas fugitives and a 9-year-old boy in the town of Ramallah, and blew up an apartment building, leaving 60 people homeless.

In unusually strong language, Israel Tuesday slammed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell for plans to meet Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, principal architects of the non-official Geneva Accord peace initiative.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports the three could meet this Friday.

That would be a mistake, warned deputy prime minister Ehud Olmert. "I think that he is not being useful to the process."

"I am certain of his friendship [toward Israel], but I would cast doubt on his judgment in this matter," Olmert told Israel Radio.

Israel Tuesday also reacted with caution to Syrian President Bashar Assad's call for renewed peace talks, saying Syria should prove its intentions by ending support for militant groups.

Assad asked the United States to push for renewal of peace talks between his country and Israel in an interview with The New York Times published Monday. The Syrian leader said a peace deal was 80 percent complete when talks broke down in early 2000.

Meanwhile, American Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders are urging the Bush administration and Congress on Tuesday to revive the peace process in the Middle East.

The delegation of 31 religious leaders wants new momentum in the U.S.-backed "road map" peace deal in the Middle East. The group fears that with the U.S. election year approaching, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will take a back seat to domestic issues.

Palestinians warned Israel's renewed military operations could torpedo attempts by the Palestinian Authority to persuade militants to halt attacks on Israelis.

Negotiations involving several militant groups are to begin in Cairo later this week.

"The latest Israelis escalation seriously threatens the dialogue in Cairo and puts serious obstacles in front of taking a decision to implement calm," said Ahmad Ghneim, a delegate from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

Early Tuesday, some 25 jeeps and armored personnel carriers entered the West Bank town of Jenin and soldiers went house to house in search of militants, witnesses said.

Gun battles erupted, and residents said they later found the body of Amjad Saadi, a militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, an armed group with ties to Fatah. Two civilians were wounded, witnesses said.

The army said troops tried to arrest the militant and opened fire after he ignored calls to halt. Soldiers fired warning shots, the army said. Four other wanted men were arrested in the raid.

The latest violence came a day after the launch of the "Geneva Accord," a hypothetical peace agreement negotiated by Israeli opposition figures and prominent Palestinians, including Cabinet ministers and legislators. The authors' intention was to show both peoples that peace is still possible and to exert pressure on the two governments to renew negotiations.

In a message to the gathering, Arafat praised the agreement as "a brave initiative that opens the door to peace."

Arafat had turned down the framework of a similar deal at a failed summit called by then-President Clinton in 2000. This time, the Israeli government rejected the Geneva accord. Sharon called it subversive and dangerous. Palestinian militants also denounced it.

Scores of Israeli and Palestinian politicians, Mideast celebrities and journalists gathered in Geneva for the launch.

The deal calls for a Palestinian state in almost all of the West Bank and Gaza and part of Jerusalem, and avoids a significant influx of Palestinian refugees into Israel.

A poll published in Haaretz showed 31 percent of Israelis supporting the Geneva deal and 38 percent opposing, with 20 percent undecided and the rest saying they didn't know enough to respond. The survey of 876 Israelis had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points. No similar survey was available on the Palestinian side.