Israeli shelling ends truce

Press, 7 October 1977, Page 6

Israeli shelling ends truce

NZPA-Reuter Beirut Shellfire from Israel has hit four villages in South Lebanon in the first breach of a two-week cease-fire in the region, eyewitnesses have said. Three persons were injured, they said. The artillery barrage lasted for about an hour, the sources reported. The cease-fire was arranged between the Palestinian and Lebanese Leftist alliance in the area and their Israel i-backed Lebanese Rightist foes.

In Beirut, the Lebanese Prime Minister (Mr Selim Hoss) has had a meeting with the commander of the Arab League peace force in Lebanon, Lieutenant-Colonel Sami Khatib, and two Palestinian commando leaders, Mr Abu Iyad and Mr Abu Jihad, to discuss the fighting. Fighting had continued in; south Lebanon since ending in other parts of the country; last November when the! mainly-Syrian peace force j separated the combatants. In Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister (Mr Menachem Begin) opened consultations yesterday from

his hospital bed on new proposals for Arab-Israeli peace talks. Israeli officials expressed renewed optimism for the chances of restarting the Geneva peace conference this year after assurances from President Jimmy Carter of the United States over crucial issues that have so far blocked new talks. Mr Begin, recovering from an inflammation of the heart membrane, began discussing with aides a secret United States-Israeli working paper for reconvening the conference. The paper was worked out by Mr Carter, the United States Secretary of State, (Mr Cyrus Vance) and the Israeli Foreign Minister (Mr Moshe Dayan) in New York in seven hours of talks that ended after midnight on Tuesday. The Israeli Government has delayed a special session lof Parliament. The ParliaIment had been summoned I from its summer recess by tthe Opposition to debate Mr Begin’s policy of settling Jews on occupied territory, but the postponement will allow the Government to devote itself to discussions of the new proposal.