Israeli Prime Minister Barak Postpones Washington Visit Amid New Round of Violence With Palestinians
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has postponed his visit to Washington this week amid persistent violence between Israeli troops and Palestinian demonstrators. The violence on the ground is now escalating into air attacks. For the latest, we go now to CNN's Mike Hanna in Jerusalem. Hello, Mike.</s>MIKE HANNA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. Well, there's been an apparent reduction in the level of violence in Palestinian territories on Sunday. Israeli police have sealed off areas under Palestinian control, preventing access to civilians, and Palestinian police have attempted to prevent protesters from reaching Israeli checkpoints. The last eight days of violence has seen hundreds of people injured, and a number killed. Israel insists that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must accept responsibility, and it has demanded that he immediately end the conflict.</s>HAIM RAMON, ISRAELI CABINET MEMBER: If President Arafat cannot control them, or worse, if he allowed to do so, all the negotiation between us and Chairman Arafat is under a big, big question mark.</s>HANNA: But Palestinians insist that the conflict results from Israeli intransigence, particularly in regard to the Israeli refusal to release political prisoners.</s>SAEB ERAKAT, PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: We really urge the Israeli side to expedite the</s>HANNA: Mr. Barak now facing problems on several fronts, an escalation of conflict in southern Lebanon, an area that he's due to withdraw from within coming weeks, internal dissent in the country's Knesset or parliament, where his coalition government is clinging to a slim majority, and indeed, the ongoing violence in Palestinian territories. He's got to deal with all of this while attempting to keep the lagging peace negotiations on track. Mike Hanna, CNN, reporting live from Jerusalem.