Israel proposes security co-operation

Mr Burns met Mr Arafat on his first mission to the region

Israel has proposed resuming security co-operation with the Palestinians as soon as Monday, following the new US envoy's first meetings with leaders on both sides of the conflict.

William Burns met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday, hours after two bomb blasts shook Jerusalem.

Sadly there was further violence in Jerusalem today. I urged Arafat to do everything possible to stop it

US envoy
William Burns

They discussed the recommendations of the Mitchell inquiry into the current violence, which calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

During talks in Ramallah, the US envoy urged Mr Arafat to do all he could to stop Palestinian militants attacking Israel.

Further meetings are scheduled to take place on Monday.

Senior figures on both sides said the mere fact that the US had appointed Mr Burns was a positive sign that the Bush administration intended to involve itself in Middle East diplomacy.

Following Mr Burns's meeting with Mr Sharon, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer proposed resuming security contacts with the Palestinians after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot ends on Monday night.

There has been no response from the Palestinians.

Twin explosions

Two explosions rocked central Jerusalem just hours before Mr Burns began his talks with Mr Arafat.

Police said nobody was injured in the first, while two were slightly hurt in the second explosion about nine hours later.

The blasts fuel fears that the violence may again spin out of control

The attacks occurred in a shopping and entertainment area close to the police headquarters.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it carried out the first attack, while the Islamic Jihad movement said it was responsible for the second.

Mr Arafat has said he can only rein in the militants and Palestinian anger when Israel ends the building of Jewish settlements.

Mr Sharon told the US envoy that Israel would maintain what it calls a "unilateral ceasefire" despite the bombings, but that Israeli patience had limits.

Mr Sharon declared the ceasefire - under which Israeli troops are to fire only when their lives are threatened - on 22 May. The Palestinians dismiss the announcement as empty rhetoric and say Israel has engaged in offensive operations.

US pressure

US President George W Bush has urged both sides to put into effect the recommendations of the US-sponsored Mitchell report.

The conflict has claimed more than 500 lives since September

But the BBC's Simon Ingram in Jerusalem says the prospects could hardly be bleaker for Mr Burns' mission.

Mr Sharon is under pressure from hardliners in his government and from sections of public opinion to respond forcefully to what Israel sees as a campaign of provocation.

Israel has rejected one of the Mitchell report's key recommendations - a freeze on Jewish settlement expansion.

Mr Burns is seeking not only a ceasefire, but a timetable for additional measures that would eventually coax the two sides back to the negotiating table.

Siege mentality

Correspondents say the spate of attacks inside Israel has fuelled a siege mentality.

We're going to give the ceasefire a chance. But at the same time we have a responsibility to defend our citizens

Raanan Gissin,
Israeli Government spokesman

An Israeli police spokesman said 25 people were detained after Sunday's bomb blasts, but that police were not sure they were involved in the explosion.

Witnesses reported a series of detonations during the morning rush hour, along with the second car bomb blast.

The streets were less crowded than usual, on the eve of the Jewish holiday.

The second blast - heard across the city - set an adjacent building on fire. Police said the device was a combination of a mortar bomb and nails.