Wednesday, 22 August, 2001, 08:42 GMT 09:42 UK 'Four dead' in Nablus gun battle

The Israeli army has not confirmed the deaths

Israeli troops have shot and killed at least four Palestinians near the West Bank town of Nablus, according to hospital officials.

Three of the bodies were discovered at dawn in an olive grove; the fourth is said to be in Israeli hands. Another four Palestinians are reported to have been wounded.

Military sources quoted on Israel radio said an army patrol ambushed the group as it was planting a bomb.

Palestinian officials say the four were killed during a gunbattle with Israeli troops. The governor of Nablus says the deaths occurred when Palestinians came under fire as they went to help an injured comrade.

The latest killings came as Arab foreign ministers prepared to meet in Cairo on Wednesday at the request of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who wants to see a common Arab stand against the Israelis.

Hours before the clash, the United Nations Security Council had held a debate on the conflict with little consensus about the best way to end nearly 11 months of bloodshed.

The BBC's Nick Childs in Jerusalem says the Nablus shooting comes just when there had been a glimmer of hope with the announcement that Mr Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres may meet next week to discuss a possible ceasefire.

Truce plan

Plans for the meeting were brokered by the visiting German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer.

It is reported that Mr Peres will present proposals for a stage-by-stage truce.

But even before Wednesday's deaths, both sides were playing down the chances of a breakthrough in the current climate.

Some senior Palestinians have dismissed Mr Peres' diplomatic overtures as a smokescreen; many Israelis want their government to act more forcefully rather than hold a dialogue.

But both Mr Peres and Mr Arafat responded positively to the German offer.

And according to Israeli Government sources, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon supports the plan for a phased ceasefire.

They say Mr Sharon has suggested to Mr Fischer that Palestinian violence be stopped in return for ending the movement restrictions on Palestinians on a zone by zone basis, rather than throughout the Palestinian territories at the same time.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001