Barak fails to bring Sharon into government

The death toll in more than a month of Israeli-Palestinian fighting rose to 141 on Monday after the body of a 20-year-old Palestinian was discovered in a West Bank olive grove that was the scene of clashes the night before. The man's brother was also killed by Israeli fire in the same incident, Palestinian doctors said.

In the Gaza Strip, a roadside bomb went off near an Israeli military convoy, close to the border with Egypt. An Israeli officer was lightly injured, the army said.

Israel's deputy defense minister, Ephraim Sneh, announced Monday that the army is changing its tactics in dealing with Palestinian gunmen who have been shooting at Jewish settlements and army outposts in the West Bank and Gaza, usually at night.

Sneh said troops would no longer only respond to Palestinian fire, but take the initiative. "Now we are saying that instead of following a method which is somewhat mechanical, we will use a method which uses our advantages ... small units, units well-trained in guerrilla warfare," Sneh told Israel army radio.

Israel's response to gunfire has included tank shells and missiles shot from helicopter gunships. On Sunday, the army sent tanks and armored personnel carriers to secure free movement of Jewish settlers on a key road cutting through Gaza, site of violent Palestinian protests. The tanks were soon shooting from mounted machine-guns in response to fire from Palestinian police.

Heavy gunbattles erupted overnight in several locations, including the West Bank resort town of Jericho, once a tranquil Judean Desert oasis. Bullets shattered the glass facade of the Oasis Casino, once a magnet for Israeli visitors.

For the second time this month, the army sealed Jericho, barring Palestinians from entering or leaving the town.

Israel's parliament, meanwhile, returned from a three-month summer recess Monday, heightening Barak's worries about his political survival. Barak, who controls only 30 seats in the 120-member parliament, has been courting the leader of the hawkish opposition, Ariel Sharon, whose visit to a disputed Jerusalem shrine last month as been cited by the Palestinians as the trigger for the current violence.

However, Barak and Sharon remained at odds Monday over the terms of their cooperation. Sharon wants the right to veto negotiations with the Palestinians. "If he (Barak) agrees to abandon, to leave the mistaken path, we will go with him," Sharon said.

However, Barak has balked at Sharon's demands. "Sharon wants to push us to the termination of the peace process," complained Sneh, who is close to Barak.

Political commentators said it was unlikely Sharon's Likud would join Barak's coalition. Despite his failure to woo Sharon, Barak appeared in no immediate danger of being toppled. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, citing a national emergency, said it would not vote against the government for the next month.

Without Shas, which controls 17 seats in parliament, a drive by the opposition to topple Barak would lose its momentum. Shas is a former member of Barak's coalition, but defected in the summer to protest concessions to the Palestinians.

With Barak's apparent failure to bring Sharon into his government, the way remained open for an eventual resumption of peace talks. Both sides have said they are interested in returning to negotiations, though with conditions attached.

Israel has said it would not negotiate under the threat of violence, and the Palestinians have said Israel must withdraw its troops from the edges of Palestinian towns.

U.S. President Bill Clinton has been trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and has invited Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Washington for separate talks, though no date has been set.

Arafat on Monday held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a key Mideast mediator, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

(AP)