Israel eases Palestinian closure

Troops have sealed off the territories for weeks

Israel has decided to allow 16,000 Palestinians into the country to work - easing restrictions imposed after the current wave of violence erupted 11 weeks ago.

A government spokesman said the move was a confidence-building measure to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"It is to build trust. It is the first of a series of steps," said Hiller Sertouk, a spokesman for Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh.

The situation is so tragic that we must relentlessly seek to do everything possible, even if we know very well the countless difficulties

Hubert Vedrine

The announcement comes amid continuing diplomatic efforts to broker an end to the bloodshed that has left more than 300 people dead since late September.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine is on a two-day visit to the region in an attempt to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

He held talks with President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, and was expected to meet Palestinian and Israeli leaders later on Thursday.

Mr Vedrine said contacts had resumed " in one way or another" between the Palestinians and Israelis.

"These [contacts] must turn back into real negotiations and must focus on real issues," he told a news conference in Cairo.

Both Israel and the Palestinians have denied that secret political contacts have been going on.

Latest reports, however, say Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami is to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the next few hours.

The meeting would be the first such high-level contact in several weeks.

Violence

And, as the talks continued, so did the violence.

Vedrine says contacts between both sides have been resumed

On Thursday, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian member of the militant Hamas group at a checkpoint in the Gaza Strip.

The man killed was described by the radical group Hamas as a member of one of its armed units, who had served time in prison.

Palestinian officials said Israeli forces had opened fire on taxi driver Hani Abu Bakra without provocation.

But the Israeli army said he had drawn a weapon and was preparing to fire it at them.

The sealing off of the West Bank and Gaza by the Israeli military has prevented more than 100,000 Palestinians from working in Israel, causing severe economic hardship.

To be eligible under the new rules, workers have to be over the age of 35, married with at least one child, and pass security checks.

The move affects 10,000 workers in the West Bank and 6,000 from the Gaza Strip.