Israeli child killed in ambush

The girl was reportedly shot from across the border

A seven-year-old Israeli girl has been killed and another child and an adult wounded in a shooting attack near the country's border with the West Bank.

Police quoted on Haaretz website said they suspected that the burst of automatic gunfire had come from a house in the West Bank town of Qalqilya overlooking Israel's main north-south highway.

The victim's car was hit by bullets, apparently swerved into a vehicle beside it, causing an accident, Haaretz reported.

The shooting happened as talks between Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas - also known as Abu Mazen - and Palestinian militant groups, aimed at ending attacks on Israelis, broke up without agreement.

The Israeli army imposed a curfew on Qalqilya on Wednesday - which is separated from Israel by an eight-meter high security wall.

Earlier, Israeli and US officials said US Secretary of State Colin Powell would visit Israel and the Palestinian territories later this week in an attempt to shore up the beleaguered Middle East peace plan.

As the US continued efforts to salvage the peace plan, President Bush's envoy John Wolf met Abu Mazen for talks on Tuesday on how to implement the plan, known as the roadmap.

Neither US nor Palestinian officials commented on the outcome of the talks.

Ceasefire bid

Following the talks with Abu Mazen in Gaza, Ismail Abu Shanab, of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, said: "Regarding the issue of a ceasefire, it is still under discussion and we have no response up to this moment."

ROADMAP MAIN POINTS

Phase 1 (to May 2003): End to Palestinian violence; Palestinian political reform; Israeli withdrawal and freeze on settlement expansion; Palestinian elections

Phase 2: (June-Dec 2003) Creation of an independent Palestinian state; international conference and international monitoring of compliance with roadmap

Phase 3 (2004-2005): Second international conference; permanent status agreement and end of conflict; agreement on final borders, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements; Arab states to agree to peace deals with Israel

An official of Islamic Jihad, another of the 13 groups which participated in the talks, said no decisions had been taken.

"We told him [Abu Mazen] that resistance is our right if the Israeli occupation continues," said Mohammed al-Hindi.

BBC correspondent Paul Wood in Gaza says Palestinian officials are very pessimistic about the chances of getting a ceasefire from militant groups.

They say this is becuase Israel has not offered the comprehensive withdrawal from Gaza they were hoping for.

In particular, they want a removal of Israeli checkpoints along Gaza's main road as well as the promised removal of tanks from the northern Gaza Strip, our correspondent says.

Israel poured tanks and troops into northern Gaza last month after Palestinian militants fired mortar bombs and rockets into southern Israel.

Palestinian militants have indicated they might consider suspending attacks against civilians within Israel proper, but will continue targeting soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hard line

John Wolf, who has been charged with monitoring the roadmap's implementation, held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday night.

Can the roadmap survive?

Mr Sharon's tough stance on the peace plan was earlier endorsed by the Israeli parliament (Knesset), which said a peace deal with the Palestinians would be impossible so long as attacks on Israelis continued.

The Israeli prime minister held talks with Jewish settler leaders on Tuesday amid friction over Israel's decision to dismantle unauthorised Israeli outposts in the West Bank in line with the roadmap.

In a statement, the council of Jewish settlers said it would "fight fiercely, but without violence" the removal of outposts and the creation of a Palestinian state.