'Breakthrough' in Mid-East mediation

Violence continues despite diplomatic efforts

The United Nations says there has been a breakthrough in talks aimed at ending two weeks of bloodshed between the Palestinians and Israelis.

A UN spokesman in the Middle East told the BBC that Secretary-General Kofi Annan had brokered an agreement to convene a trilateral security committee, which involves Israel, the Palestinians and the United States.

Palestinians burn an effigy of Madeleine Albright

It could meet within 24 hours and it is understood that it will be chaired by George Tenet, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency.

But in a sign of continuing hostility on both sides, an Israeli cabinet minister on Thursday accused Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of heading for war with Israel.

"War - that's what he wants," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on Israel radio.

"There is no diplomatic process today ... I suggest we organise for a situation of terror, for situations of attacks."

Intense shuttle diplomacy has been marred by continuing clashes in the occupied Palestinian territories, where at least three Palestinians have been killed and an Israeli soldier seriously wounded.

The current spiral of violence has left about 100 people dead - most of them Palestinians.

However, correspondents say outbreaks of violence seem less widespread than in recent days.

Some of the worst unrest on Wednesday surrounded the funeral of a Jewish settler on the West Bank. The Israelis deployed tanks and helicopter gunship to quell the disturbances.

Security committee

Israeli sources described the convening of the security committee as a positive development, but warned that the situation was still delicate.

Shuttle diplomacy: Robin Cook meets Yasser Arafat

There has been no word yet from the Palestinians.

The BBC's Nick Childs in Jerusalem says if the meeting goes ahead, it would be one of the most significant contacts between the two sides since the clashes began.

US President Bill Clinton said either he or US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright might travel to the Middle East to try to stop the violence. But he added that such a trip was not imminent.

Mr Annan held more unscheduled talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday after arriving in the region a day earlier.

Kofi Annan: Efforts move to Lebanon

He is scheduled to travel on to Lebanon on Thursday to try to mediate the release of three Israeli soldiers abducted four days ago by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

UK Foreign Minister is discussing the crisis with Israel's neighbours.

Mr Cook told the BBC that he found "welcome recognition" in his talks on Wednesday with Mr Arafat and Mr Barak that there is no alternative to the peace process

The violence was sparked by the visit on 28 September of the 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.