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DATE=10/04/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=EGYPT / SUMMIT PREVIEW (L OVERNIGHTER)

NUMBER=2-267461

BYLINE=DALE GAVLAK

DATELINE=CAIRO

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is hosting a summit meeting Thursday in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh in hopes of stopping violence between Palestinians and Israeli troops and restarting the peace process shattered by a week of turmoil. Dale Gavlak in Cairo reports Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and U-S Secretary of State Madelaine Albright are expected to follow-up discussions they began Wednesday in Paris.

TEXT: President Mubarak has expressed deep concern over the escalation of violence in the West Bank and Gaza and said it must be halted. He blamed the tensions on Israel's rejection of Palestinian rights to territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 war.

President Mubarak has denied reports about an Egyptian proposal to place disputed Jerusalem under United Nations Security Council jurisdiction. He maintains that sovereignty over Jerusalem is a Palestinian right and warns that violence will continue unless the fate of the holy city is resolved in a suitable manner.

Violence between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters first broke out in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Palestinian territories after Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound last week. The area -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount -- is sacred to both Jews and Muslims. The future of Jerusalem has caused bitter dispute between the two sides over sovereignty.

The ongoing violence has caused despair throughout the Middle East and many Arabs say the only way forward is a firm resolve to press forward with peace.

/// OPT /// In Baghdad, however, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein criticized Arab leaders for their weak opposition to what he called Israel's massacre of Palestinians. He said enough is enough, Arabs should not accept any more humiliation. The Iraqi leader said Arabs must put an end to Zionism. If they cannot do it, he said, then Iraq is ready to do so. /// END OPT ///

Mr. Arafat has demanded an international investigation into the deaths of scores of civilians, most of them Palestinians. A special security committee of Israeli, Palestinian and U-S officials is also expected to meet in the region -- in addition to the Sharm el Sheikh summit -- to try to restore order. (Signed)

NEB/DG/GE/JWH