Palestinian and Israeli negotiators plan to meet again today (Wednesday) for talks on ending a three-week stand-off at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. 

Palestinian officials say Tuesday's talks were constructive but no agreement was reached. Two hundred people, including Palestinian gunmen, are holed up in the West Bank church. 

Israel says the gunmen must either surrender and stand trial in Israel or go into exile outside the territories. Palestinians rejected those demands and have offered a counter-proposal under which the wanted men would be sent to the Gaza Strip. 

Three Armenian priests left the church Tuesday. 

Also on Tuesday, Israeli soldiers set off an explosion inside the compound of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. 

Palestinian officials say the blast was in a vacant building next to Mr. Arafat's office, and no one was hurt. The Israeli army says soldiers used controlled explosions to destroy grenades found in the compound, where Mr. Arafat has been confined since December. 

In Hebron Tuesday, hooded gunmen shot dead three Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel and hung their bodies from a pylon. 

Elsewhere, Israeli troops raided a number of West Bank villages and arrested more than 20 Palestinians suspected of involvement in anti-Israeli attacks. 

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