Palestinians accept US ceasefire plan

Palestinians said today they would accept a peace plan brokered by the US to end eight months of bloodshed.

Palestinians said today they would accept a peace plan brokered by the US to end eight months of bloodshed.

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We have accepted the American document. Implementation will begin tomorrow
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Palestinian Information Minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo

The plan, drafted by CIA director Mr George Tenet, was approved by Israel yesterday.

"We have accepted the American document. Implementation will begin tomorrow," Palestinian Information Minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo said after talks last night between Mr Tenet and Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat in the West Bank.

Its purpose is to resume security cooperation, end the violence and restore the situation that existed before the violence erupted in September.

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No exact details were released, but an Israeli spokesman said the deal called for an end to violence followed by a six-week cooling-off period.

Mr Arafat provided the American with a letter detailing his objections to one element of the Tenet plan - a buffer zone between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

But while the two men met last night, suspected Palestinian gunmen fired on a car near the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank, killing a Greek monk, the Israeli army said. The car had Israeli licence plates.

Moreover, hundreds of members of Mr Arafat’s Fatah movement protested outside the talks, vowing to continue the violence until the Israelis withdrew from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.