Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told American Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday that he should meet with Yasser Arafat without pre-conditions. Cheney said that he disagrees with Peres, and in fact did not meet with Arafat. Peres also holds that the government should make it easier, rather than harder, for Arafat to be allowed to travel to Beirut; he said that pressuring Arafat would upset him and make it harder for him to take action to stop the terrorism. MK Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset faction who quit the government last week, called on Prime Minister Sharon to replace Peres as head of the negotiating team. \"The Israeli public, as well as Prime Minister Sharon, must wonder who Peres is representing when he pressures Cheney to meet unconditionally with Arafat,\" Lieberman said.



The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza responded to the attack with a demand for the expulsion of Arafat. \"As long as Arafat is not expelled from here, the terrorism will also remain here,\" according to the Yesha Council.



A large bomb exploded along the Israeli-Egyptian border this morning, near an IDF force. No one was hurt.