from the AP:
Jerusalem--
Palestinian police clamped down on unrest in the Palestinian areas today following a week of violence that has interrupted peace talks in Sweden and left behind a bitter aftertaste of distrust.
Police closed a West Bank television station, apparently because it glorified deadly clashes last week in which five Palestinians died and hundreds were injured, and forbade Palestinian newspapers from printing ads encouraging people to come to demonstrations.
Police also prevented about 30 demonstrators from reaching Israeli soldiers stationed at a religious enclave at the entrance of Bethlehem.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians demonstrating for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel burned two Israeli flags and a cardboard drawing of Israeli PM Ehud Barak. One demonstrator shot into the air.
Israeli envoys conducting peace talks in Sweden returned to Jerusalem today for consultations after Barak halted the talks to protest the firebombing of a car that severely burned a 2-year-old girl in the West Bank town of Jericho. Israel also barred its citizens and foreign tourists from entering the Palestinian-controlled areas, a major blow to the West Bank's struggling economy.
West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub called the ban a form of punishment for the Palestinians.
"Such actions can only cause more tension... This is very dangerous and the situation is explosive," Rajoub said.
In the West Bank town of Hebron, a Palestinian teenager shot during last week's clashes was buried today by 4,000 mourners. Saad el-Hawarin, 15, was given a gun salute by Palestinian police, and demonstrators wielding automatic weapons cried, "We will redeem the murdered with our blood!"
Among Israeli officials, even dovish Justice Minister Yossi Beilin, an architect of the 1993 Oslo peace accords and a tireless advocate of the peace process, said talks could not continue in the face of violence, in which demonstrators and Palestinian policemen opened fire on Israeli troops.
"We clarified to Arafat that we can't accept something like this," Beilin said. Barak reportedly sent army chief Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz to Arafat's office Sunday night to pressure him to restrain demonstrators. A similar message was relayed by visiting U.S. national security adviser Sandy Berger, Palestinian officials said.
Barak spokesman Gadi Baltiansky said there were no plans to cancel peace talks in Sweden but would not say when they would resume. Palestinian police raided the offices of the Watan TV station in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday night and ordered it closed, said Ibrahim al-Hossary, a manager of the station. He speculated that police targeted the station because it dubbed in Palestinian anthems when airing footage of the clashes.
Ramallah police said they followed orders to close the station but could not comment further.
Police also barred newspapers from publishing ads from Arafat's Fatah movement calling for demonstrations to protest 1,600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Fatah leader Marwan al-Barghouty said.