21.   Arafat, for his part, expressed sensitivity to Israeli security concerns that have delayed plans for a pullback in the West Bank.

22.   Arafat, who had claimed that the attackers might have come from abroad, now charges that the village in question was under Israeli security control.

23.   As Israeli security forces and civilian volunteers searched for the soldier, his parents made an emotional appeal to the kidnappers on Israeli television.

24.   As the mediator, the United States is now probing to see if Israeli security concerns are balanced by a desire to keep the whole negotiations process going.

25.   As usual, Israeli security forces barred Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from entering Israel for the duration of the holiday.

26.   As long as Arafat lives, senior Israeli security officials believe, only he has the political strength to negotiate seriously with Israel.

27.   At midnight, Israeli security forces raided the house and interrogated family members.

28.   At one point during that period, Israeli security officials began receiving information about a possible Palestinian-led terrorist attack.

29.   At the same time, Palestinian leaders and Israeli security officials are issuing stern warnings that pressure in the Palestinian territories is at the boiling point.

30.   Beyond the central dispute over Israeli security procedures, the regional trading relationship is riven by other prickly conflicts.