Four bombs explode in Jerusalem; Israel responds with missile

JERUSALEM -- Four bombs exploded on the streets of Jerusalem early Monday, and Israel responded with a helicopter strike that sent missiles through the roof of a Palestinian security building in the West Bank.

In a day of violence on several fronts, two Palestinians were killed and at least 20 were wounded, while at least six Israelis were hurt.

In the center of Hebron, Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen battled Monday evening. Two Palestinians were killed and about 20 were injured in widespread Israeli gunfire, the Palestinians said. Two Israeli soldiers were hurt in an explosion, one seriously, the army said.

South of the West Bank city, a Jewish settler was shot and seriously wounded when his car was ambushed by Palestinian gunmen, the army and rescue services said.

Hebron has been the scene of repeated clashes throughout the recent Mideast fighting. About 500 Jewish settlers live in several small enclaves in the city, home to about 130,000 Palestinians.

Truce talks possible

Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said he was still trying to arrange truce talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Nothing was set, but speculation focused on a possible meeting this week in Italy, where both have been invited to a conference.

Asked whether a cease-fire could be reached, Peres said: "That is my hope."

"I think (Arafat) also needs it. The uprising is not yielding so much fruit. On the other hand, it is yielding more and more fatalities, unfortunately, and is causing great hardship," Peres told Israel radio.

Even if a meeting were arranged, the prospects of a breakthrough to end 11 months of fighting are slim. Peres and Arafat have met twice in recent months, but have failed to reduce the bloodshed.

In a bid to bring the two sides together, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana met with Palestinian negotiators Monday and planned to hold talks with the Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took his case to Moscow, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

The prime minister wants to build on the existing relationship between the two nations and explain "Israel's outstanding need to fight against terror," Sharon aide Raanan Gissin said.

Russia has largely left the Middle East stage to the United States despite Moscow's official role as a co-sponsor of the peace process. Arab leaders including Jordan's King Abdullah II, who was in Moscow last week, have urged Russia to get more involved.

French Hill bombs

In Jerusalem, three of the four bombs went off in and around French Hill, a neighborhood in the northern part of the city built on land Israel captured in the 1967 war. Two explosions occurred before dawn, startling sleeping residents but causing no injuries. Shortly before 8 a.m., a bomb placed in a car exploded, injuring one woman, setting the vehicle on fire and scattering debris in the street.

The fourth bomb was placed in a municipal pickup truck in French Hill, police said. A municipal worker, unaware of the bomb, drove the vehicle early Monday to the Gilo neighborhood, which has been the scene of Palestinian sniper attacks, and that bomb exploded just before 8 a.m. Two people were slightly injured.