MIDDLE EAST: HAMAS/ISRAELI CRISIS SITUATION UPDATE

(13 Sep 1998) English/Nat A third day of clashes in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Sunday left five Palestinian youths injured from rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers. Meanwhile, Israel braced for threatened revenge attacks by Islamic militants - after the killing on Thursday of two top Hamas fugitives. The violence came as Israelis marked the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo peace accords and renewed American attempts to restart the stalled peace process. Security was tight in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, where thousands of people held a rally for peace. The demonstration in Rabin Square was organized by the 'Peace Now' group which opposes the Israeli Prime Minister's nationalist policies that it says have brought the peace process with the Palestinians to a standstill. Rabin Square is the site where the late Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was shot and killed by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995. Among speakers at the rally was his widow, Leah Rabin. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We don't stop hoping for a change, for a dramatic change in our society, for a dramatic change in the peace movement." SUPER CAPTION: Leah Rabin, widow of former Israeli Prime Minster, Yitzhak Rabin Israel's government is less enthusiastic about restarting the peace process. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived to brief his cabinet on Sunday morning on the latest political developments. He focussed mainly on the visit of United States' peace envoy Dennis Ross and his new round of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. Ross continued in his efforts on Sunday to get Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to agree on a U-S proposal to end the 18-month stalemate in the peace talks. A small number of protestors showed their support for Netanyahu during a rally outside his home. About 50 Israeli right wingers held an anti-Oslo demonstration outside the house of the Israeli Prime Minister - carrying banners calling for a stop to the Oslo accords. These developments come as Israel's military remains on high alert, following the killing of two senior Hamas fugitives on Thursday. Brothers Imad and Adel Awadallah, wanted for a string of violent acts, were killed when Israeli troops raided their hideout outside the West Bank town of Hebron. Hamas is threatening revenge attacks and checkpoint security is tight. Palestinian land remains sealed off for a second day. The Palestinians however, are a little more optimistic about a breakthrough - although not much. SOUNDBITE: (English) "It's not easy, there are still many difficulties, different points of the components of the American initiative but there is a serious attempt to reach a breakthrough. The American's they are doing their best, many other parties they are doing their best." SUPER CAPTION: Ahmed Abu Alla, Palestinian cabinet secretary Israeli security forces have cancelled leave for police and soldiers and troops have fanned out to cities throughout the country to protect shopping areas and bus stops - targets of previous suicide bomb attacks. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...