Day after, solitary gunman spoils truce

A Palestinian gunman attacked an Israeli Army checkpoint and was shot dead on Tuesday in another blow to a ceasefire declared by Palestinian...

A Palestinian gunman attacked an Israeli Army checkpoint and was shot dead on Tuesday in another blow to a ceasefire declared by Palestinian factions under international pressure to uphold a shaky new peace plan.

Islamist militants and the mainstream Fatah movement had issued a truce statement in Gaza on Sunday. But armed groups within Fatah lack a central command and West Bank elements refused to cease fire. A West Bank cell of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting death of a road worker on Monday. It was not immediately known who carried out Tuesday’s assault .

An Army spokesman said no soldiers were injured. ‘‘A terrorist armed with a pistol opened fire at the roadblock, but no one was hurt. The soldiers fired at him and he was killed,’’ he said.

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Israel wrecks Nazareth mosque foundations z

NAZARETH: Israel demolished the foundations of a mosque planned near Nazareth’s main Christian shrine on Tuesday, ending a project that had angered the Vatican and raised religious tensions in the city where Jesus grew up. Dozens of Muslim protesters scuffled with police protecting mechanical wreckers carrying out a court demolition order at the site in the shadow of the Roman Catholic Basilica. —Reuters

Later in the day, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon and Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas addressed their peoples together for the first time in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of their meeting, Sharon said Israelis did not want to rule Palestinians or decide their future, but that peace would not be possible if Palestinian ‘‘terror’’ continued. He said he was willing to pay a ‘‘painful price’’ for peace.

Abbas said his people wanted an end to the conflict with Israel, adding that the only way to progress was ‘‘through dialogue, discussions and negotiations.’’

‘‘Our conflict with you is a political conflict and we will end it through political means. We do not have hostility with the Israeli people and we have no interest in continuing the conflict with them,’’ he said.

‘‘Our future is together and we hope we will today establish joint committees,’’ Abbas said.

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The two leaders ended their remarks with a long handshake, looking at each other.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration is considering increasing aid to the Palestinians and providing its first direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority, officials said. The money would help the Authority deal with Hamas and other militant groups, the New York Times reported.