A special US envoy held new talks in Israel today, stepping up urgent international efforts to strengthen a fragile Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and revive frozen peace negotiations.
Assistant Secretary of State Mr William Burns met Foreign Minister Mr Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv and Central Intelligence Agency Director Mr George Tenet was due to mediate talks between Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs in the West Bank.
The nearly week-old ceasefire was punctured by Palestinian gunmen who shot and seriously wounded an Israeli motorist near Ramallah, hours before Tenet was due to host the security talks in the West Bank city.
Despite such shootings, and confrontations and mortar fire in the Gaza Strip, the truce has led to a drop in violence and offered a potential breakthrough after eight months of fighting in which more than 570 people have been killed.
"Things are better than they used to be, but not good enough, (not as good) as they should be. We still have a great deal of work to be done," Mr Peres told reporters.
"I believe there is a chance. There are many difficulties and this week will be a week of great importance."
The United States is coordinating its peace drive with the European Union and the United Nations, and senior EU officials will arrive in the region tomorrow. A Russian envoy and an EU representative were holding talks in the region today.
Mr Tenet's talks with security chiefs aimed to cement the ceasefire by resolving differences between the two sides and working on a timetable for steps leading to new peace talks.
Mr Tenet met Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat in a first round of talks yesterday, and Mr Burns was also expected to see both leaders.