On yet another day of heavy Israeli-Palestinian violence - with five Palestinians and an Israeli killed, and claims by Israeli forces that they had foiled a Jerusalem suicide bombing - Palestinian officials yesterday denied that they planned an imminent unilateral declaration of statehood.
Instead, both Palestinian and Israeli leaders called for international assistance to help them resolve more than 14 months of conflict. In the day's one encouraging sign, Israeli was late last night withdrawing its forces from Palestinian territory in Ramallah, although it is maintaining a blockade of the city. Three weeks after reoccupying parts of six west bank cities, the troops still remain on Palestinian land in Tulkarm and Jenin.
The heaviest clashes took place outside the West Bank city of Nablus yesterday afternoon, where three Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed. Israeli officials said that their forces came under attack by Hamas militants.
Palestinian officials confirmed the death toll, and said a child had also been injured.
Two more Palestinians - members of a militia group affiliated with Mr Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO - were killed in a car bombing at a Jenin refugee camp. Some 2,000 Palestinians, holding a protest march after the blast, blamed Israel for orchestrating the bombing. At a road block in Abu Dis, on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian, who they said was carrying explosives en route to a suicide bombing in the city.
This latest instalment in the seemingly interminable intifada conflict coincided with reports in some Arab circles that Mr Arafat, who is to attend the UN General Assembly in New York this weekend, may use that world stage to formally establish the state of Palestine. Mr Ahmed Qurei, the Speaker of the Palestinian parliament, has been urging him to do so. Mr Arafat returned to Gaza yesterday from the EU-Mediterranean conference in Brussels claiming that he had unequivocal EU support for independence.
But Mr Yasser Abed-Rabbo, the Palestinian Authority's Minister of Information, insisted that no declaration was imminent, and many analysts believed the move would be counter-productive: Mr Arafat would be establishing Palestine without US support and in opposition to the Israeli government, with no agreement on borders and with key issues still unresolved - including the status of Jerusalem, the future of Palestinian refugees and the fate of Jewish settlements.
Mr Shimon Peres, the Israeli Foreign Minister with whom Mr Arafat has met several times in recent days, told officials at the EU-Med conference yesterday that Israel wanted to partner the Palestinians towards statehood since it saw its interests best served by a strong relationship with a peaceful Palestine. But first, he said, the US, the EU and others needed to pressurise Mr Arafat into cracking down on extremist groups.
Mr Peres said he was finalising a new peace initiative - which provides for Palestinian statehood - and which he is to discuss with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, on Friday.
Mr Nabil Sha'ath, the PA's Minister for Regional Development, is also calling for greater US intervention, and is currently in the US attempting to arrange for a first meeting between Mr Arafat and President Bush.
Michael Jansen adds:
The London-based al-Hayat daily reported sources close to Mr Arafat as saying he expected a declaration of a Palestinian state would create a new reality on the ground in the occupied territories. Attempts are being made to arrange a meeting between Mr Arafat and President George Bush, on the sidelines of the UN Assembly but Mr Bush is said to be reluctant to hold discussions with Mr Arafat until he meets with the Israeli Prime Minister premier.