Thousands of Palestinian mourners in Gaza buried the latest casualty of Middle East bloodshed yesterday amid little apparent progress from private contacts aimed at resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
"Let us teach them how to kill the Jews," chanted mourners bearing the flag-wrapped body of policeman Mahmoud Naseer through the streets, a day after he was killed in a battle involving Israeli tank fire near the Israel-Gaza border.
Fresh violence this week, including Naseer's death and bomb attacks that killed two Israelis, is complicating efforts to revive peace talks and end three months of bloodshed in which at least 346 people have been killed.
The peace drive stumbled again on Friday when the two sides publicly staked out opposing positions over the right of return for Palestinian refugees and control over Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said he would not sign a deal agreeing to the right of Palestinian refugee return or Palestinian sovereignty over the Jerusalem holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Arabs as al-Haram al-Sharif.
The Palestinian Cabinet said after a weekly meeting that it would not agree to a settlement that failed to meet fully its core demands, but that it was still committed to "full and serious negotiations."
As back-channel contacts continued between Israelis and Palestinians, Western diplomats warned of a stand-off between Palestinians and the US over the details of proposals forwarded by US President Bill Clinton to kickstart the talks.
Palestinians say they want more information before agreeing to use the plans as a blueprint for a final settlement, and that they will only give their verdict after they get clarifications.
Palestinian officials said that Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was consulting Arab leaders about Clinton's ideas and would travel to Tunis and Morocco on Saturday night to further discuss the plan and get backing for his stand.
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