Senior Palestinian and Israeli leaders held separate meetings Sunday to plan a path forward in the absence of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who was sequestered in a French hospital with an unknown ailment. Palestinian officials have been convening a series of top meetings in recent days to show that their institutions continue to function in Arafat's absence. Senior intelligence officials and representatives from the foreign and defense ministries were briefing the Israeli Cabinet Sunday on Arafat's health and the possible subsequent scenarios. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Israel's army would "demonstrate restraint" in military operations in the West Bank and Gaza until the Palestinian leadership situation became clear. "These are days of waiting, and during such days you act perhaps with a bit more caution," Shalom told Army Radio before the weekly Cabinet meeting.
