by Omar Ibrahim, TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AFP) - Four people were killed and at least 33 others wounded in north Lebanon on Sunday in clashes between armed opponents and supporters of the parliamentary majority, security officials said. After a lull of several hours, the two sides traded fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles and rockets in the Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen districts of Tripoli, said an AFP correspondent in the port city. A security official said Hassan Khalil and Ibrahim Sleiman Ibrahim were killed in Jabal Mohsen, adding to the casualty toll of two dead and 33 wounded in earlier clashes. Also among the dead, policeman Samer Rashid was hit by a stray bullet inside his home in the Al-Qobbe district of Tripoli, security officials said. Another man, Bourhane al-Khatib, died after being hit by a bullet in the heart during clashes at Jabal Mohsen, said a medic after the 22-year-old was taken to a hospital in the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi.

According to security officials, many of those wounded were caught in the crossfire and hit by stray bullets while inside their homes. Calm had been restored in the afternoon as representatives of the feuding parties met in Tripoli and agreed on the Lebanese army taking charge of security and for gunmen to keep off the streets, said a participant.  Before the fighting resumed, Education Minister Khaled Kabbani said end-of-year exams would take place as scheduled in Tripoli's schools on Monday. The fighting initially broke out at 4:15 am (0115 GMT) in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, both northern districts of Tripoli, a security official told AFP. He said pro-majority Sunni militants fought with a group of Alawites, a dissident branch of Shiism which however supports the Shiite opposition movement Hezbollah. The fighting spread to Al-Qobbe in eastern Tripoli.

By Michael Bluhm, BEIRUT: Israel's Wednesday offer of direct peace talks with Lebanon amounts to little more than a ploy in domestic Israeli politics and a sop to US interests in the region without any hope for success, a number of analysts told The Daily Star. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has undertaken a flurry of diplomatic activity recently, with the disclosure last month of indirect Israeli-Syrian negotiations brokered by Turkey and the announcement on Tuesday of a six-month cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza, but his approval ratings have been at historic lows since Israel's debacle in the summer 2006 war here. Olmert's political epitaph may well have been written by the court testimony last month of an American businessman who said he loaded Olmert with cash-stuffed envelopes totaling more than $150,000 when the prime minister was mayor of Occupied Jerusalem.  With Olmert's political fortunes nearly bankrupt, Wednesday's invitation for direct talks with Lebanon aims partly to deflect attention from his domestic difficulties, said political analyst Simon Haddad.

"First of all, it's something that has to do with Israeli internal politics," Haddad said. "Olmert is in a difficult situation. He's trying to cover for his failure by having [peace talks] with Syria and Lebanon, knowing in advance that nothing will result from these talks." By extending his hand to Lebanon - and Syria - Olmert is angling to keep himself relevant by scoring points at home and with his United States allies by showing his ostensible engagement for peace, said Oussama Safa, executive director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies.  "The Israelis are benefiting from what is happening with Syria through Turkey," Safa said. "They're good points for the Olmert government. They are taking advantage of this ... to throw the ball in Lebanon's lap." In addition, Olmert is endeavoring as well to burnish his credentials as premier before the bribery scandal possibly brings him down, Safa added.  "He's trying to stay afloat a little bit," Safa said. "The scandal has really dragged Olmert beyond repair. He's been a lame duck since the 2006 war."  Wednesday's move also could represent an Israeli bow to US wishes to help out Prime Minister-designate Fouad Siniora, whose March 14 coalition has been a favorite of the administration of US President George W. Bush, said Fadia Kiwan, director of the school of political science at St. Joseph University.