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Sporadic gunfire in W. Asia

JERUSALEM, Oct 18 (Reuters) — Israeli soldiers and Palestinians exchanged gunfire in sporadic clashes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the night, despite an agreement to end three weeks of violence.

The Israeli Army said two soldiers were hurt when Palestinians threw a grenade and shot at troops near a village south of the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank. The soldiers fired back at their assailants.

The army said in a statement that shooting had broken out at border police near Bethlehem in the West Bank.

It said an army base came under fire in the divided West Bank city of Hebron and the Jewish settlement of Psagot came under fire from the direction of the West Bank city of Ramallah. In both cases, the army returned fire.

It also reported shooting at an army checkpoint near Qalqilya in the West Bank.

Rocks and petrol bombs were hurled at a number of patrols near the army headquarters in the south of the Gaza Strip, the army said.

Despite the isolated incidents, there did not appear to have been any major clashes during the night and there were no immediate reports of any new deaths.

At least 105 persons have been killed in the wave of violence, almost all of them Arabs.

The sporadic clashes have continued despite an agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to call for an end to the fighting during a summit with US President Bill Clinton today in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly scheduled an emergency debate on the violence in West Asia today, despite opposition from the USA and words of caution from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Ms Sue Markham, spokeswoman for the assembly, said she expected the emergency special session to limit itself on the first day to speeches from regional groups.

Mr Nasser al-Kidwa, the Palestinian UN representative, had asked for a meeting of the 189-member General Assembly last week after US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said he would veto a new resolution in the 15-nation Security Council.

Mr Kidwa, who was backed by more than 100 Arab and other developing countries, told reporters he was aware of the need to restore calm, but that did not mean the meeting should be cancelled.

The decisions of the assembly, where Palestinian supporters are assured a majority, are non-binding. The Security Council’s rulings can have the force of international law.

“We think that a special session of the General Assembly is extremely unhelpful because it undermines the peace process rather than helps it,” Mr Holbrooke told reuters.

“The General Assembly’s actions will undermine their own Secretary-General,” he added. “And for what purpose? Purely to use the General Assembly as a forum to beat up on Israel. Purely. There is no other purpose.”

Mr Annan, who played a key role in the negotiations, appealed to Israelis, Palestinians and the international community in general to “weigh their words carefully” because “words can inflame or soothe, and everyone needs a restoration of calm and quiet so as to create the best possible atmosphere for a resumption of peace talks.”