Palestinians, Israelis Talk

PALESTINIANS and Israeli peace activists have resumed a dialogue Wednesday for the first time since they severed talks in August over their opposing views of the Gulf crisis. At the gathering, they disagreed over whether analogies could be drawn between Iraq's occupation of Kuwait and Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but decided that this difference should not interfere with their joint peace struggle.

Participants agreed that feelings among Palestinians and Israelis had become more polarized during the Gulf crisis. ``Today our task is more difficult in the Israeli public, because the crisis has amplified fears of Arab hostility,'' Galia Golan, a prominent figure in Israel's Peace Now movement, said.

Palestinians staged another general strike on Wednesday in support of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, whom they see as a hero for confronting the United States, Israel's ally. Rallies and wall slogans call for defeat of US imperialism.