Israel goes ahead with settlement expansion By Mark Lavie The Associated Press JERUSALEM — Despite hints the Israeli government might compro mise on the divisive settlement is sue, Israel’s housing minister said Tuesday that plans are going ahead for hundreds of new homes in the West Bank. The development came amid new violence, with three Jewish settlers, including an American immigrant, killed in drive-by shootings and two Palestinians killed by Israeli fire. An other Palestinian was killed when he blew himself up at an Israeli check point in the Gaza Strip. Israeli and Palestinian security of ficials were scheduled to meet for the first time in two months at the urging of the new Middle East en voy, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns. Israeli Defense Minister Bmyamin Ben-Eliezer said the talks would be held in two rounds — with West Bank security chiefs late Tuesday and their Gaza Strip counterparts Wednesday. Past meetings have failed to re store the Israeli-Palestinian securi ty cooperation that evaporated when the current round of fighting broke out eight months ago. Israel says Yasser Arafat’s Pales tinian Authority is directly in volved in attacks and that by releas ing militants from prison it bears responsibility for suicide bombings and other recent attacks. The Palestinians blame Israel for the violence and have expressed little faith the talks can bear fruit unless they also address political grievances. Bums has been pressing the two sides to begin implementing recom mendations of an international commission headed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, which calls for an end to the violence followed by confidence-building measures, including a total freeze on settle ment construction. Israel says it accepts the report, even though Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has in the past objected to a total settlement freeze, saying the communities had to expand to ac commodate “natural growth.” On Tuesday, Israeli Housing Minis ter Natan Sharansky told Israel Radio he had approved construction bids for 496 new housing units in Maale Adu mim, outside Jerusalem, and 217 units in Alfei Menashe, near Tel Aviv. The settlements are suburbs of main cities and have few vacant apartments, unlike smaller settle ments in the interior of the West Bank, where, according to Israeli peace groups, there are thousands of empty units. Palestinians, who want to set up a state in all of the West Bank and Gaza, say the 144 settlements — where 200,000 Israelis live — are il legal and must be dismantled. The United States has called them an ob stacle to peace. Meanwhile, violence threatened to overshadow efforts to arrange a cease-fire. Two Palestinians were killed at an Israeli outpost in the Gaza Strip, including a suicide bomber with ex plosives strapped to his body. The other was shot and killed while throwing a grenade. Two soldiers were injured. Also Tuesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian in a car near Jericho and arrested another Pales tinian, the Israeli military said. Three Israeli settlers were killed and four were wounded in two Pales tinian ambushes in the West Bank. In one attack, Palestinians in a passing car opened fire on an Israeli vehicle near the settlement of Neve Daniel, south of Jerusalem, killing two settlers and wounding three. One of the dead was Sarah Blaustein, 53, an immigrant from the United States. Her husband, Norman, 53, was slightly wounded, and a son, Sammy, 27, was seriously wounded with three bullets in his back. The Blaustein family, from Lawrence, N.Y., moved to the settle ment of Efrat about a year ago, ac cording to settlers. Another Efrat resident, Esther Alva, 20, died several hours after the attack. Earlier, Palestinians opened fire on a car near Nablus, killing Gilead Zar, 41, head of security for settle ments in the northern West Bank. Zar was badly wounded in a Pales tinian shooting attack last year. Ben-Eliezer said Arafat’s Fatah or ganization claimed responsibility for the shooting, which he called “very regrettable.” Hundreds joined a funeral pro cession for Zar, which started in front of Sharon’s office and wound through the West Bank. At one point, Palestinians opened fire on the convoy, the military said. No one was hurt. Fires scorch forests, build fears of long, hot summer By Martin Griffith The Associated Press SUSANVILLE, Calif. — A raging 4,100-acre forest fire forced evacua tions of 60 homes and a hospital, coating the town of Susanville with dark soot and giving firefighters an unwelcome taste of what could be ahead this summer. “This is the closest I’ve seen to a fire in Susanville in my life,” said Bob Garate, 45, a former firefighter whose home was threatened by the blaze. “I haven’t seen dry condi tions like this since 1977. We’re in for a long, hard summer. ” The fire, which had burned to the city limits and was within a quarter mile of an RV park, was one of sev eral burning Tuesday in the region. Susanville, with a population of 17,500, is located about 80 miles northwest of Reno, Nev. Firefighters were battling a 6,500 acre wildland blaze near Pyramid Lake, about 40 miles north of Reno. And there was another forest fire about 250 miles southwest of Susanville in the Mendocino National Forest. In New Mexico, firefighters braced for hot, dry, windy weather in their battle against a blaze that has scorched about 1,400 acres of the Guadalupe Mountains in an unpopulated area of the Lincoln National Forest. The Susanville blaze started about seven miles west of town Sunday on private timberland after being sparked by a man shooting targets in the woods, said state Dept. of Forestry spokeswoman Wendy McIntosh. The man, whose name was not released, was cited for caus ing a fire and letting it escape. “This is an August fire in May, and you have to wonder where it’s going to go from here. It could be a long, expensive summer,” said fire information officer Steve Harcourt. Fire officials said the blaze was about 35 percent contained. About 1,300 firefighters tried to slow the flames’ advance using fire engines and bulldozers to build a fire line. Seven air tankers and a dozen heli copters also were used. Two firefighters were injured while battling the blaze, including one with a possible broken arm. The fire skirted eight homes, com ing as close as 30 feet to some of them. About 140 residents were evacuated, but were allowed to return to their homes late Tuesday morning. Lassen Community Hospital had to evacuate 25 patients Monday night when the fire burned with a quarter mile of the facility, said Lau ra Lang, executive assistant at the 59-bed hospital. “We had quite a few embers blowing this way and the smoke was very thick. For health reasons, and just to calm the patients, we evacuated them,” Lang said. McIntosh said two Susanville area residents suffered minor in juries, but no structures had been damaged or destroyed. Residents in the area are accus tomed to fires, but this one was too close for comfort, said Dan Merritt of the Susanville Interagency Fire Cen ter. “It’s not uncommon for there to be forest fires in the area, but this is the closest it’s come to town in the 35 years since I’ve been here,” Mer ritt said. “It’s also the earliest we’ve had a major forest fire in those 35 years.” Evacuees were asked to check in at Lassen High School. By 10 p.m. Mon day, 15 people had arrived at the school to spend the night on cots. Elementary, junior high and high schools in Susanville were closed Tuesday due to concerns about air quality. LOOKING FOR A GREAT HANGOUT THIS SUMMER? THEN HEAO TO MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR... CLASSES BEGIN JUNE S5 CALL 503-4S1-64SS FOR MORE INFORMATION In just one summer you can take care of an entire year’s worth of Science, Humanities/Social Science credits OR Complete a major portion of your language requirements at MHCC’s Summer Language Institute. 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