A Palestinian Attack Kills 5 on a Northern Kibbutz

At least one Palestinian gunman attacked a kibbutz in northern Israel near the border with the West Bank late Sunday, killing five people hours after a suicide bombing was foiled in the same area, police officials said.

Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Yasir Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as representatives of Fatah and Hamas met in Cairo to discuss a proposed halt to attacks in Israel.

Two hours after the shootings, an Israeli helicopter struck in Gaza, firing rockets into a metalworks factory, residents and security officials reported. The army said the factory had produced mortar shells used in attacks on Jewish settlements.

The violence came on the eve of a visit here by an American envoy to promote a peace blueprint proposed by the Bush administration.

Hours earlier in the same area, two Palestinians apparently on a suicide mission were killed when their vehicle exploded near the kibbutz. Border police officers on alert for a possible infiltration from the West Bank spotted the vehicle and ordered the driver to stop before it blew up, a police spokesman said. One passenger wore an explosive belt and the other carried a bag containing a bomb, Israeli radio reported.

Earlier on Sunday, the Palestinian cabinet gave qualified approval to an American blueprint for a Middle East peace settlement, while Mr. Sharon quashed criticism of the document in his cabinet, officials said.

Both Palestinian and Israeli officials seemed eager to avoid any appearance of obstruction of American policy as the Bush administration prepares for a possible war against Iraq.

The American envoy, Deputy Assistant of Secretary of State David Satterfield, is coming today to discuss the road map for peace drawn up by the Bush administration. The plan, which envisions a Palestinian state by 2005, calls for an end to attacks by Palestinians as well as for reforms within the Palestinian government and security services, for Israeli withdrawals from West Bank cities and for an eventual freeze on construction of Israeli settlements.

After a meeting of the Palestinian cabinet today in Ramallah, officials said the American blueprint was acceptable, although they added that more consultations were needed with Arab states and several conditions had to be met.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, an adviser to Mr. Arafat, predicted that despite Palestinian reservations, "our response is going to be for sure a positive response" in the meetings with Mr. Satterfield.

Mr. Sharon, for his part, cut off discussion of the American proposal among cabinet members, according to accounts from people who were in the meeting. He reportedly intervened when Mr. Mofaz was asked by a minister to comment on the plan.

Mr. Netanyahu has waved off the American plan, saying it is not on the agenda as the United States prepares for action against Iraq.

In the West Bank, Israeli forces pulled back to the outskirts of Jenin after a two-week sweep against militants that culminated with the killing on Saturday of Iyad Sawalha, a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad group who was accused by Israel of masterminding two bus bombings that killed 31 people.
A http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/11/international/middleeast/11MIDE.html