JERUSALEM — The United Nations' Middle East envoy urged Israel and the Palestinians Tuesday to urgently restart peace talks to avert the danger of a regional war after new violence flared in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Gun battles erupted during the night in the West Bank near Jenin, Hebron and Jerusalem, denting Prime Minister Ehud Barak's hopes of securing a peace deal with the Palestinians that might win him votes in a general election expected in May.
No one was reported killed in the clashes, but almost 300 people have died in the 10-week-old uprising by Palestinians demanding independence. Most of the dead have been Palestinians, although 35 Jewish civilians and soldiers have also died.
"The situation as it is now is not tenable. It may continue the way it is right now for a few more weeks. . . . It could deteriorate sharply, dramatically and tragically, which may produce regional spillovers so we will face a regional war," U.N. special envoy Terje-Roed Larsen told Reuters.
"The only way to save the situation is for the parties to return quickly to the negotiating table and make the painful compromises they have to," he said.
Larsen did not say what he meant by a regional war or which other countries might be drawn in. Israel has said it could attack Syrian troops in Lebanon if Damascus does not prevent cross-border attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas from Lebanon.
Barak, who has frozen peacemaking because of the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, last week proposed an interim deal putting off solving difficult issues such as the future of Jerusalem.
The Palestinians dismissed the proposal as an election ruse and said they would accept only a final agreement.
But the chief of staff of Israel's armed forces said he still hoped peace talks could resume, making clear he believed Israel should be able to negotiate from a position of strength.
"We all hope that we will succeed in getting to the point where negotiations will be renewed in a feeling of security and a network of security that is based on the army's power," Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz said at an awards ceremony.
Violence picked up on Sunday night after clashes in and around Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Shooting also flared on Monday evening near Jerusalem. Israeli troops unleashed heavy machinegun fire on the West Bank Palestinian town of Beit Jala in response to what it said was gunfire on an army post in the Jewish settlement of Gilo.
A hospital said two Palestinians were wounded by shrapnel.
The army said Palestinian gunmen opened fire during the night at Israeli troops near Jenin and shot at the Jewish settlement in the divided city of Hebron. The army returned fire but no injuries were reported.
A bomb exploded near an army convoy in Gaza, but no one was hurt, and an explosive device was defused by sappers near Jenin.
Palestinian officials did not comment on the overnight violence, which each side blames the other for starting.
But Palestinians remained defiant and mourners at the Gaza funeral of Awed Selmi, a military leader of the Islamic group Hamas, chanted "revenge" as others fired guns in the air. Selmi's blown up remains were found on Monday.
Barak is under fire for failing to end the violence. His political rivals also accuse him of being ready to make too many concessions to the Palestinians at peace talks, although negotiations have been frozen for weeks.
He bowed to the pressure last week by saying he was ready to hold an election, although he has been trying to form a broad coalition government to tackle the unrest.
A date for the election has not yet been set, but it is widely expected to take place in May, two years into Barak's four-year term.
Benjamin Netanyahu, a former right-wing prime minister, said on Monday he was weighing challenging Barak again. He was ousted by Barak in the last general election.
"A mother can't send her children out of the house in the morning. The country has reached rock bottom and this needs to be changed," Netanyahu, 51, said, adding that he was close to deciding whether to return to politics.