US Mideast envoy Anthony Zinni last night called on Israel and the PA to honor a 48-hour \"breather\" period during which there would be no violence. Zinni indicated that this is necessary to break the \"cycle\" and achieve a cease-fire. Officials in the Prime Minister\'s Office have made it clear that this does not replace Israel\'s demand for a seven-day period of quiet, which remains in effect. Zinni\'s comments after his meeting with Arafat two days ago are still making waves. He was quoted in Yediot Acharonot yesterday as saying, \"I have never encountered such lack of trustworthiness in my life,\" and in Ma\'ariv as saying that it was a \"waste of time to try to reach a serious agreement with him.\"



Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is scheduled to meet today with European Union envoy Javier Solana on the same topic. Israel Police, army forces and specialized units remain on heightened alert in light of intelligence community reports of ongoing efforts to perpetrate a major attack inside pre-1967 Israel.