World leaders urge Israel to accept monitors  The world's
leading industrial countries stepped up pressure on Israel
yesterday to accept a key Palestinian demand of stationing
international monitors at flashpoints in Gaza and the West Bank.
But, crucially, the foreign ministers from the Group of Eight,
which includes the US, said such a force could only be put in
place with agreement from both Israel and the Palestinians.  The
Israeli government, exercising its veto, rejected the prospect
of observers.  The Israeli foreign secretary, Shimon Peres,
explaining his country's objection, said: "Terror is
clandestine, you can't observe it. So you can only observe our
reaction."  Mr Peres added: "You can't observe suicide bombers
preparing for their work. You can't observe a gunman using a
house in Rafah to fire from - but you can observe houses of
terrorists being demolished [by the Israeli army] in Rafah."
But behind the scenes, the Israeli position is softening
slightly. A government source said such a force wa