BETHLEHEM: Renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians on Sunday darkened the already-clouded prospects for progress toward a ceasefire being sought by US envoy Anthony C. Zinni.

In Bethlehem at midday, Israeli troops and tanks rolled into the center of the city and killed a Palestinian gunman who tried to fight off the tanks with an M-16 rifle.

The city was shut down tightly during the three-hour incursion, and the streets of the nearby town of Beit Jala were deserted after a curfew was imposed there to ease passage of armour.

At almost the same time, in the Israeli town of Kfar Saba, northeast of Tel Aviv, a Palestinian shot at pedestrians with a pistol and killed a teen-age girl before he was shot dead by police and security guards. Two hours later in Jerusalem, a suicide bomber detonated a belt full of screws and nails between a municipal bus and a taxi-van, lightly injuring nine people and killing himself.

On his third day in the region, Zinni shuttled between Palestinian and Israeli officials trying to work out terms for a ceasefire.

He condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the terrorist attacks in Kfar Saba and Jerusalem. He indirectly placed blame on Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, insisting it “take responsibility and act against terror and punish those responsible.” Zinni also said he will continue to mediate with the aim of reaching a ceasefire.

Zinni did not mention the Israeli incursion. The State Department has requested the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank and Gaza, but armoured units remain in Bethlehem and Beit Jala.

Since Zinni’s arrival on Thursday, conflict and combat has cooled significantly compared with the volcanic eruption of violence over the past several weeks.

Yet this was not the atmosphere of calm the Bush administration wanted to greet the arrival of Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been visiting Middle Eastern capitals in search of support for possible military moves against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The Palestinians also appeared to be pressing for “political” talks on future peace arrangements to begin in tandem with truce negotiations. “If they do not withdraw completely from all Palestinian-ruled areas and do not give the Palestinian people hope for a political vision, then (it means) Israel is intent on pursuing its aggression,” said Mohammed Dahlan, a top Palestinian security official.

Meanwhile, Sharon assured his cabinet that the proposed talks would not include political issues. “Israel will not have political negotiations under fire,” he told reporters. Right-wing ministers have criticized Sharon, saying he has softened his prohibition on negotiations in the midst of Palestinian attacks.—Dawn/The Washington Post News Service.