ISRAEL hurriedly organised a flurry of meetings with Palestinian leaders yesterday. The meetings are designed to emphasise Israel's continuing commitment to the peace process, after Palestinians throughout the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem went on strike to protest the lack of progress.
The Israeli Defence Minister, Mr Yitzhak Mordechai, publicly asserted his government's determination to move the process forward, and the Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, despatched two aides to convey the same message to the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and his deputy, Mr Mahmoud Abbas.
More substantively, for the first time since Mr Netanyahu took power here three months ago, Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators sat down for preliminary talks.
Israel's Mr Dan Shomron and his opposite number, Mr Saeb Erakat, met in a Jerusalem hotel, and agreed that intensive talks on all aspects of the peace accords would begin next week.
The general strike, called by Mr Arafat in anger over reports that Israel is to construct several hundred new homes at various West Bank settlements, was well observed throughout the territories, albeit with the presence of highly visible detachments of Mr Arafat's police force in some West Bank cities helping to persuade local residents of the wisdom of compliance.
Somewhat ironically, however, Palestinian building workers at the settlement of Kiryat Sefer ignored the four hour strike, travelling to their jobs as usual.
Israeli newspaper reports this week that hundreds of new homes are to be built at this ultra Orthodox settlement were the principle cause of yesterday's protests.
Israel's failure to pull its troops out of Hebron and to significantly ease long term entrance restrictions on Palestinian labourers, has produced growing frustration and despair among the Palestinians.
Mr Sam Sayegh, a leading Arafat loyalist in the West Bank, yesterday threatened a resumption of the "armed struggle" against Israel unless the Netanyahu government changed its policies in the near future.
Mr Arafat, though, however, insists that he remains committed to more peaceful avenues.
Maol Muire Tynan reports:
The Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, has expressed deep concern at the increasing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The whole peace process, which is a fundamental interest of the (European) Union, could be undermined by this regression to direct confrontation," Mr Spring said yesterday.
Calling on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately reengage in the peace process, he urged them to "respect and implement fully all the agreements reached and to resume negotiations as soon as possible on the basis of the principles already accepted by all parties under the Madrid and Oslo frameworks".