Palestinian Prime Minister in Washington
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: While the president and the Palestinian prime minister meet in Washington, there are plenty of interested observers almost 6,000 miles away. They are waiting to see whether this meeting will help Israel and the Palestinians move down the road toward peace. Matthew Chance is live with us now from Jerusalem. He's got more from that particular perspective on these meetings under way in Washington. Hello, Matthew.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, thank you very much. As preparations continue for that meeting between the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and President Bush, tragic events here on the ground underlining, once again, how urgent is the need for some kind of long-term solution to this Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Israeli and Palestinian officials confirming to us that an Israeli soldier has killed a 4-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded his two sisters, after opening fire on a car at a checkpoint in the West Bank. An Israeli army statement said a soldier fired at the car due to what they called an operational error at the checkpoint in the northwest -- the northern West Bank village of Barto (ph), which is close to the Palestinian West Bank town of Jenin. The statement said, a full inquiry into the incident is under way. The boy has been named as Mahmud Kabu (ph). He died immediately according to medical officials on the ground from a single gunshot wound. But one of sisters shot in the hand. His other sister was wounded in the leg, according to eyewitness his at the scene. Well, all this coming, of course, as the final preparations, as we've been discussing, are made for that meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and President Bush, where the Palestinian prime minister is expected to ask President Bush to put more pressure on the Israelis to fulfill their obligations under the U.S.-backed road map peace plan, to do things like release more of the more than 7,500 prisoners in Israeli custody, and to remove roadblocks, and as Chris Burns said earlier, to begin that the process of dismantling their settlements across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. But it is a symbolic visit, but also one the Palestinians certainly hope will produce real results on the ground as well -- Leon.</s>HARRIS: Speaking of results on ground now, we hear Israel announced they'll be easing up restriction on the Palestinians. What can you tell us about that, Matthew?</s>CHANCE: Yes, they've announced from the prime minister's office here in Jerusalem, they've announced that they will undertake a number of measures, in their words, to ease life for ordinary Palestinians. They're talking about removing a number of the very controversial roadblocks outside a number of key Palestinian towns that prevent Palestinians from moving freely throughout the occupied West Bank. They're also talking about sort of basically freeing up the roads that connect various Palestinian towns in the West Bank, as well as discussing the possibility of withdrawing their forces from at least two other Palestinian towns in the West Bank. All these measures, the Israelis say, aimed at easing restrictions on the Palestinians. The Israeli prime minister's office moving perhaps to preempt this meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and President Bush, but these measures unlikely at this stage to meet the demands of the Palestinians in Washington.</s>HARRIS: Matthew Chance in Jerusalem. Thank you, Matthew. Appreciate that.