BBC Bomb explosions rock Jerusalem

Three bombs went off in the French Hill area Four bombs exploded in and around Jerusalem early on Monday, slightly injuring at least four people, police said.

The radical Palestinian group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said they carried out the attacks.

They said it was to avenge the assassination a week ago of their leader, Abu Ali Mustafa - the highest-ranking Palestinian official to be killed by the Israelis since the start of the Palestinian uprising.

The blasts came as the EU's senior foreign policy envoy, Javier Solana, arrived in Israel to try and help broker a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

Chances

Mr Arafat played down the chances of a meeting producing results.

"I tell him 'welcome', but the most important thing is: what are we going to discuss?" Mr Arafat said.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Jerusalem says that even if a meeting goes ahead, few in the region believe a solution to the crisis is in sight.

Mr Solana had also been expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, but the meeting did not take place.

Mr Solana was due to meet Mr Peres on Monday night and Mr Arafat on Tuesday.

Blasts

In the latest violence, there were three explosions in the northern Jerusalem neighbourhood of French Hill.

One was a car bomb which injured two people, the other blasts caused no injuries, police said.

Another bomb in a parked vehicle went off in the Jewish settlement of Gilo, south of Jerusalem.

Two people were hurt in that blast.

Last week, Israel sent troops and tanks into the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Jala to try to end Palestinian gun attacks on Gilo, a settlement which Israelis regard as a Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem.

The Israelis withdrew after the European Union brokered a ceasefire.

Mr Solana, who is visiting the Middle East in the 12th month of the conflict, is aiming to build on the Beit Jala ceasefire.

Mr Peres has said he might meet the Palestinian leader at the weekend, when both are due to attend a conference in Italy.

But there is little hope of an immediate breakthrough, and Mr Peres has cautioned against heightened expectations.

The Palestinians are asking for an international presence at the meeting.

They also want a timetable for implementing the Mitchell Report, which calls for a ceasefire and confidence-building measures, including a freeze on the building of Jewish settlements.

-- Anonymous, September 03, 2001