Jerusalem — Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a message sent over the weekend that further easing of the closure of Palestinian areas would not be possible until the Palestinians crack down on terror, Sharon's office said Saturday.
Israel has accused a regional commander of Arafat's elite Force 17 security unit of organizing a squad that carried out attacks against Israelis, killing eight people. Israel has arrested three Palestinian gunmen it says belonged to the squad.
Israel had in recent days begun easing a security closure on Palestinian areas imposed on and off to keep potential attackers from entering Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres called on Saturday for the unconditional renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians, apparently contradicting Sharon, who has insisted that violence cease first.
The Palestinians have said they are willing to reopen negotiations but only if far-reaching proposals offered by Sharon's predecessor, Ehud Barak, remain on the table. Sharon has opposed Barak's offers, calling them too generous.
"Negotiations won't be renewed until there is a cessation of the violence," Sharon spokesman David Baker said.
The secretary-general of the Palestinian Cabinet, said the Palestinians demand that negotiations be toward a final status agreement, not a long-term interim agreement as Sharon has proposed.
Barak had offered the Palestinians a state in nearly all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as some of east Jerusalem.
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