THE MIDDLE EAST: The Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, may address the Arab League summit in Beirut via satellite television. Mr Arafat confirmed last night he would not be attending the summit.
Israel was standing firm on its refusal to let him travel unless there was a ceasefire.
In continuing violence, two unarmed United Nations observers were shot and killed last night and a third was wounded as they were travelling by car at Halhoul, near the West Bank town of Hebron. The Israeli army blamed the attack on Palestinian gunmen.
There have been attacks in this area in the past on the local community of some 400 Jewish settlers. The observers, serving in the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), were driving on a bypass road used mostly by settlers. Palestinians do not normally target UN workers.
The Israeli authorities foiled an attempted car-bombing in Jerusalem yesterday morning. Two Palestinians were confronted with a surprise checkpoint as they were driving to a major shopping mall in the city. The bomb exploded and the two men were killed but there were no other injuries.
An Israeli military source told reporters that advance warning of the bomb attack had been given to the Palestinian authorities but that they did nothing to stop it and, as a result, Israel itself had been forced to prevent the attack with its own personnel.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, linked to Mr Arafat's Fatah movement, admitted responsibility for the attempted bombing and named the men in the car as Khaled Mousa (19) and Shadi Hamarneh (22), residents of two villages south of Bethlehem.
Despite US pressure to allow Mr Arafat to attend the Beirut summit, the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, outlined conditions last night that made it unlikely. Mr Sharon reserved the right to prevent Mr Arafat from returning if there were terrorist attacks while he was away.
Israel has been demanding agreement on a ceasefire as a condition for lifting the travel ban.
Mr Sharon added a new twist: "If it is said to Israel by the United States that (Israel) can refuse to allow him to return if there are terror attacks, it will be easier for me to allow him to leave." He said in a television interview that a decision to allow the trip would be "easier" if there was "a declaration by Chairman Arafat, in his own voice, to his people about a ceasefire and a call to stop the violence". In an interview with The Irish Times last week, President Arafat said it was his "right" to go to Beirut and expressed concern that, if he travelled to the summit, the Israeli authorities might not allow him back. He has been under de-facto house arrest at his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah for four months, although Israel now says he can travel within the Palestinian territories.
The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, urged Mr Sharon to let Mr Arafat attend the summit. A spokesman said Mr Annan would meet Mr Arafat if the Palestinian leader went to Beirut.
The summit, which takes place today and tomorrow, was rapidly losing its shine as it emerged that President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt would not attend, thereby taking from the credibility of any declaration that might be agreed. Egypt advised Mr Arafat to stay away as well, in light of the conditions imposed by Israel. The Libyan leader, Col Muammar Gadafy, will also be absent.
These developments raised doubts about the immediate prospects for the initiative floated by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia whereby Israel, in return for diplomatic recognition by the Arab world, would give up the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights.
In recent weeks, some Arab states have sought to change the offer to one of "full peace" instead, which would involve cultural and trade exchanges rather than diplomatic recognition. A draft document prepared for Arab leaders made no mention of the Saudi offer, while calling on Israel to give up all the land taken from the Arabs in the 1967 war.