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Arafat Agrees to Resume Security Talks with Israel VOA News 26 Feb 2002 08:02 UTC 
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says he is ready to resume security talks with Israel, as continuing violence claims more lives.
Mr. Arafat spoke to reporters Monday in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after a meeting with the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Palestinians suspended security talks after Israel announced Sunday that it will continue to keep Mr. Arafat confined in Ramallah.
Israeli tanks pulled out of Palestinian-ruled areas of Ramallah, but remain deployed around the city's perimeter.
Meanwhile, in violence Monday, Palestinian gunmen killed two Israelis near a West Bank Jewish settlement, not far from Bethlehem. And at least 10 Israelis were wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire near a bus stop in East Jerusalem. One of the gunmen was killed by Israeli police.
Elsewhere, in separate incidents in the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old girl.
In other developments, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters he has spoken recently by telephone with Mr. Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
The crown prince, who is Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler, has said he is considering a plan to offer Arab diplomatic recognition to Israel if the Jewish state withdraws from all land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.
But the crown prince says he is withholding a formal presentation of the plan because of recent Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
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