[Palestinians youths hurl stones and a petrol bomb at Israeli occupation soldiers during clashes in the West Bank town Hebron, Al-Khalil on June 26, 2001. Read photo caption below].


WASHINGTON, June 26 (Islamweb & Agencies) - With fresh gunbattles in the West Bank again puncturing a shaky cease-fire, talk by the Israeli Prime Minister on his second visit to Washington since becoming premier of a complete cessation of hostilities before moving peace talks sound increasingly hallow.

In Hebron, Al-Khalil, scene of Monday's confrontation between Palestinian Resistance men, Jewish settlers and Israeli troops, witnesses said the occupation army had moved piles of rocks and mounds of earth into place to enforce the blockade around the city. Witnesses said areas near the city's Jewish settlements were under curfew, with stores shuttered and streets deserted.
Earlier, firefight erupted in the city wounding 12 Palestinians and five Israelis.
Palestinians have lashed out at Israel for keeping in place economically crippling blockades in the West Bank and Gaza, make it hard for Palestinian security forces to enforce the cease-fire.
For Washington, the cease-fire is the first stage of a peacemaking blueprint drawn up by a committee led by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.
US Secretary of State, Colin Powell arrives in the Middle East on Wednesday, after Sharon leaves Washington, to try to put the plan into effect. It calls for a cessation of so-called violence followed by a cooling-off period and confidence-building measures, such as a halt to construction at Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, before peace talks eventually resume.
Palestinians want to implement Mitchell's proposals as a package. Sharon said on Monday ``each new stage can only be started after the completion of the previous one.''
He said the truce must include a halt in hostilities against Israelis everywhere -- a reference to attacks on settlers. Many Palestinians see them as legitimate targets.
Jewish settlements, illegal under international law, are built on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians want for an independent state.
Bush Optimistic:
US President George W. Bush on Tuesday said he was "optimistic" on the implementation of the Mitchell report to bring lasting peace to the Middle East, insisting that "progress is being made" between Israelis and Palestinians.
"Progress is being made. Is it as fast as we'd like? No, its not," said Bush, who was hosting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House in an effort to shore up wavering truce between Israelis and Palestinians.
"We are gaining by inches, I recognize, but nevertheless an inch is better than nothing," Bush told reporters
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Tuesday there should be a period when things were "completely quiet" for 10 days, before the "cooling-off period" between Israelis and Palestinians referred to in the Mitchell report could begin.
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PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians youths hurl stones and a petrol bomb at Israeli soldiers during clashes in the West Bank town Hebron, Al-Khalil on June 26, 2001. Israel tightened its blockade of the Al-Khalil after a gunbattle with Palestinians as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prepared for talks in Washington with President George Bush. (Loay Abu Haykel/Reuters)
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