JERUSALEM (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Fresh calls for a cease-fire spurred hope on Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinians were setting the stage for talks to end nearly a year of bloodshed. (Read photo caption below)But sporadic gunfire in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after new cease-fire orders on Tuesday underscored the challenges ahead to bring about a permanent truce for stemming the conflict in which more than 700 people have been killed.
International pressure has mounted on Israel and the Palestinians to stop their one-year-old conflict, now widely seen as an obstacle to U.S. efforts to forge an anti-terror alliance after last week's attacks on New York and Washington.
``The president has called on all parties ... to seize this moment and do everything possible in the wake of this attack on the United States to move forward with the peace process in the Middle East,'' U.S. spokesman Ari Fleischer said in Washington.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered a halt to ''initiated actions'' by the Israeli army after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told Palestinians on Tuesday to stop shooting.
``I think it can become a turning point,'' Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told CNN. Peres said he and Arafat might be able to start talks in days if the situation remains calm.
Senior Palestinian negotiator and Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Ahmed Korei said it was just the beginning. ``It will go forward. I can expect political talks with Israelis to be held in the very near future,'' he told Reuters.
Some political sources expect any Arafat-Peres meeting to be held in the region as soon as Thursday.
PHOTO CAPTION:
A Palestinian man approaches an Israeli guard position as he crosses the Kalandiya checkpoint along the road leading to the West Bank town of Ramallah Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat announced Tuesday that he is unilaterally enforcing a cease-fire, and Israel responded by ordering a halt to military operations. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
- Sep 18 1:54 PM ET