End Mideast Clashes, Envoy Urges

U.S. envoy Anthony C. Zinni told Israel and the Palestinians at the end of his first round of Middle East talks Wednesday that their people had suffered enough and it was time to end 14 months of fighting.

“We need to end the violence and we need to get back on the track toward peace,” Zinni said after meeting Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat at the traditional meal to break the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Shortly afterward, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo from the nearby West Bank town of Beit Jala. No casualties were reported.

Also Wednesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian who charged an Israeli position in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said he was shouting Islamic slogans and ignored orders to halt. Soldiers believed he was a suicide bomber. He was unarmed.

Earlier in Gaza, soldiers wounded two other unarmed Palestinians. The Israeli military said they were apparently trying to infiltrate into Israel to carry out a suicide attack.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Zinni said, “I think both sides have suffered far too much in the last months, and I think it is time for change.”