The meeting planned for today between Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has been canceled in the wake of this morning's shooting attack near Tekoa. Sarit Amrani, 26, of Nokdim was shot and killed, and her husband, Shai, was seriously injured, when gunmen fired on their car from a passing Palestinian truck. The couple's three children, sitting in the back seat of the car, were not injured.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon this afternoon expressed disappointment that the Palestinians had not honored their commitment to a cease-fire. "The cease-fire lasted about 20 hours and ended with this terrible tragedy," he said, referring to the Tekoa attack. Sharon announced that he would convene the cabinet this evening to discuss the security situation.

The Peres-Arafat meeting was to be held at the conclusion

"Normally these cease-fires have a shelf life of a few days -- this one lasted a few hours." - Dore Gold, adviser to PM Sharon

of "complete quiet for 48 consecutive hours," as announced in a special Knesset session on Sunday by Sharon. The purpose of the dialogue was to "advance the process of the cease-fire, to bring about seven days of calm which are a precondition to beginning the Mitchell program."

Arafat announced on Tuesday that the Palestinians would abide by a total cease-fire. As a result of Arafat's declaration, IDF forces withdrew from Palestinian-controlled territories near Jenin and Jericho, and ceased all initiated military operations. The two-day Rosh Hashana holiday was marked by a significant decrease in violent attacks, with the exception of heavy gunfire exchanges between Palestinian gunmen and IDF forces in Hebron.

Previous cease-fire announcements and initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians failed, some after a few days. Even so, associates close to the Foreign Minister expressed optimism at the chances this time. "This is the most significant cease-fire since the start of the Intifada," one source told Yediot Aharonot. "Finally, Arafat has got the message, similar to the one issued after the wave of terror attacks in 1996."

Earlier this morning, before the Tekoa attack, Peres said in a radio interview that the test of Arafat's compliance with the cease-fire was in his declarations and the efforts he made, rather than what happens on the ground. Dismissing last night's blast near Oranit, in which two security guards were injured, Peres praised Arafat's initial efforts to enforce the cease-fire, something that could not be achieved with the press of a button.

When Israel Radio anchor Arieh Golan pointed out to Peres that Arafat's own Fatah Tanzim group was responsible for the Oranit attack. Peres replied that Arafat was having problems with some groups.

Gunmen from the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a Fatah faction, carried out the attack, according to a message delivered to the Beirut office of Agence-France Presse. Earlier West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti had announced that Tanzim militiamen would only honor a cease-fire when Israeli troops withdrew to the June 4, 1967 borderlines.

Israel Radio reported this morning that Sharon told U.S. Secretary of State Powell in a telephone conversation that the Palestinians had failed to honor the cease-fire of 48 hours that is required before a Peres-Arafat meeting.

Government ministers: "Cease-fire is a ruse"
After the Tekoa attack, sources in the Prime Minister's office stated that they believed the cease-fire was no longer in effect. "It's hard to remember whether this is the fifth or the sixth cease-fire Yasser Arafat has not fulfilled,'' said Dore Gold, adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Normally these cease-fires have a shelf life of a few days -- this one lasted a few hours."

Several Israeli cabinet ministers today reiterated their demands that Sharon cancel the scheduled Peres-Arafat meeting in the wake of continued Palestinian violence despite Arafat's cease-fire declaration. "The terror against us is continuing," National Infrastructure Minister Rechavam Ze'evi (National Union) said. "Arafat and his colleagues are men of blood, and we should not be meeting with them. A meeting with Arafat is a Middle East version of Chamberlain's talks [with Hitler] in Munich," he said.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) said that due to the continued Palestinian gunfire and attacks, the meeting should not take place. "The cease-fire is none other than a ruse," Yishai said, adding that the "proof of this is the many incidents since Arafat's declaration."

In response to the Tekoa shooting attack, the Yesha Council, representatives of the Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, issued a sharp, and sarcastic statement. "As a result of the unparalleled success of the cease-fire, the Yesha Council calls on the Prime Minister not to miss this wonderful chance to bring security to the citizens of Israel." The Council recommended that Sharon join Peres in his meeting with "terrorist Arafat," a move that would undoubtedly bring "40 years of quiet," according to the Yesha statement.

The Palestinians blamed Israel for cease-fire violations. Arafat aide Ahmed Abdel Rahman said Israel had not done enough to fulfill its promises to halt attacks and pull troops out of Palestinian-controlled areas. "All acts of occupation, siege and closure, trenches, tanks, military checkpoints...must be ended,'' he said on Wednesday.

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