Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General, said here yesterday that the eight-point document reportedly presented by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to the U.S. president for resolving the current spasm of the Israeli-Palestinian violence should not be understood to be an alternative to the Arab peace plan unanimously endorsed by the Arab Summit in Beirut last month.

"We should not forget that the eight-point proposal has been leaked by a non-Saudi source. However, seven points of the document are purely related to the current situation in the occupied territories and how it should be dealt with. The most important point is the one on halting construction of Israeli colonies," Moussa said in response to a question by Gulf News on the new proposal and destiny of the Arab peace plan.

Moussa was speaking at a news conference at the Dubai Press Club yesterday. He said that the implementation of the proposal cannot be completed unless the Arab Peace Plan is carried out. "The eighth point, or the ninth one, should be the implementation of the joint Arab peace plan."

Moussa, however, said that he was "very pessimistic and even frustrated" about achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East due to the 'intransigent' policies and atrocities committed by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

With the ongoing Israeli onslaught, I see "there is no possibility of having such peaceful settlement on the horizon. There is no mutual understanding between the parties concerned about equal rights. There is still a long way to go, since pressure will continue to be exerted on the Arabs and they will be denied their legitimate rights," said Moussa. Moussa hailed public demonstrations against Israeli atrocities.

In occupied Jerusalem, Israel yesterday shrugged off an impatient U.S. call to end its West Bank drive and vowed to press its hunt for Palestinian militants after a young girl and three other Israelis were shot dead at a Jewish colony.

Six other settlers were wounded, one seriously, by three Palestinians wearing Israeli army uniforms who went on a house-to-house shooting spree at the Adora colony near the West Bank city of Hebron, army officials said.

One of the attackers was later hunted down and shot dead, the army said. The others might have escaped into Hebron.

In new violence around the Church of the Nativity, Palestinian sources said an 18-year-old Palestinian inside was shot in the back and critically wounded by Israeli forces.

In Ramallah, meanwhile, about 50 young Palestinians throwing stones battled Israeli soldiers surrounding Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's headquarters.

Meanwhile, a UN fact-finding team prepared to descend on a reluctant Israel to look into nine days of vicious fighting and destruction at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

The mission, with three main members accompanied by more than a dozen advisers, waited in Geneva for the green light from Israel which UN officials expected to be given by the Israeli cabinet today.

"Our general attitude is positive," Israeli government spokesman Arie Mekel said after a round of negotiations at the UN headquarters this week which he said made "some progress." But a UN spokeswoman said officials were "not aware" of negotiations with Israel.

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