Arafat scorns Israel's new ultimatum

Nablus, on the West Bank, saw a display of Palestinian firepower

The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has dismissed Israel's extension of a deadline for him to control Palestinian violence as just another "threat".

He was responding to a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that he would declare the Middle East peace process dead if violence continued in Gaza and the West Bank.

Time is short and the need is high and the price of failure is more than any of us wants to see

Kofi Annan

After coming under strong international pressure, Mr Barak extended his deadline for Palestinian moves to quell the violence - originally set for Monday night - for another "three or four days".

Speaking after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr Barak said it was too early to tell whether the violence was subsiding.

But there have been further clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters, with a nine-year-old boy in Gaza becoming the latest victim.

Confused and nervous

Mr Arafat's dismissive comments came after his talks in Gaza with Mr Annan and the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov.

"Threats, threats, threats," Mr Arafat told reporters, laughing at the deadline extension.

Barak's climbdown opens chance of talks

However, a BBC correspondent in Gaza says Mr Arafat appeared confused and nervous, knowing that popular feeling is running strongly against any further compromise with Israel.

"Unfortunately, there are still violent clashes in which the Israeli army is using tanks, artillery, rockets and helicopters against our people," he said.

Mr Annan was in a more positive mood after the talks.

"I think we can rein in the situation. I think we have a window of opportunity to do it. It is not going to remain open forever. So I am optimistic," he said.

Shot in the head

Doctors at a Gaza hospital declared nine-year-old Sami Abu Jazar clinically dead on Tuesday afternoon, after he was shot in the head by live Israeli rounds during clashes at Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Sami Abu Jazar: Witness said he wasn't throwing stones

A photographer working for AFP newsagency said the boy - who was wearing his school uniform - had been standing at a distance and took no part in the stone-throwing against Israeli soldiers.

Nearly 100 people, almost all Arabs, and many of them children and teenagers, have been killed since violence broke out 12 days ago.

Correspondents say that incidents like the death of Sami Abu Jazar make it very difficult to calm popular Palestinian anger.

International pressure

Mr Barak has now dropped a refusal to attend a US-sponsored summit until the violence was over.

"If there should be a summit, its purpose must be a complete halt to the violence, " Mr Barak said on Tuesday morning.

"Should there be an attempt such as this, there's no logic from the standpoint of Israel not to come and realise it," he added.

Mr Clinton is keen to sponsor such a summit.

However, Egypt has refused to be the host.

Inquiry

Arab countries have won approval for an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Commission to examine the clashes in the West Bank and Gaza, officials announced in Geneva.

Earlier crisis talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down over the issue of whether an international inquiry could be held to apportion blame for the outbreak of violence.

Israeli wanted any such inquiry to be led by Washington.

The violence followed the 28 September visit of controversial Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a holy site in Jerusalem whose status has proved the most divisive issue in the stalled peace talks.