DATE=03/22/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS (S)

NUMBER=2-287853

BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

INTRO: A suicide bomber has carried out an attack at an Israeli military checkpoint in the West Bank. Initial reports say several people were injured in the attack, which came as Israeli and Palestinian security officials resumed negotiations on a ceasefire designed to end nearly 18-months of violence. V-O-A's Meredith Buel reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: Truce talks are resuming despite a Palestinian suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem Thursday that killed three Israelis.

Earlier today (Friday), U-S envoy Anthony Zinni met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah, as tentative peace efforts continue to be threatened by violence.

At the meeting, Mr. Zinni appeared angry and Chairman Arafat seemed dejected, resting his head in his left hand.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group linked to Mr. Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for an earlier suicide bombing, prompting the United States to include the armed faction on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Mr. Arafat pledged to take immediate steps to halt attacks against Israeli civilians, and said he is committed to making Mr. Zinni's peace mission a success.

The U-S envoy is trying to implement a cease-fire agreement brokered last year by the director of the U-S Central Intelligence Agency (C-I-A) George Tenet.

The Tenet plan requires the Palestinians to crackdown on militant groups and calls for an Israeli military pullback from areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (SIGNED)

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