Palestinian - US summit on Tuesday

A bilateral summit between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton will be held in New York on Tuesday. the summit will not be for negotiations, but it will address the issues that have been discussed during the tour of US peace process coordinator Dennis Ross and the results of those discussions.

Palestinian Minister of Information Yasser Abdul Raboh told reporters in Cairo yesterday.

This comes as U.S. Middle East peace coordinator Deniss Ross prepares to leave the area after a failed effort to break the deadlock in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations due to Israel's refusal to accept the US proposal for a 13 percent second phase withdrawal from Palestinian territories.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government ratified new plans for expanding its settlements by 600 housing units. Settlers confirmed that the Israeli prime ministers promised them compensations for any losses they incurred.

On Thursday, Jewish settlers gunned down a Palestinian student after two Palestinian militants were shot dead by Israeli forces earlier last week.