LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Israeli military and Palestinian security officials are pulling back from several flash points in an effort to stop a week of violence. Well, this comes despite the failure of U.S.-sponsored talks in Paris. Palestinian and Israeli leaders are to meet today in Egypt, but not everyone is there. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Egypt. He's on the phone right now with the very latest. Ben, what can you tell us?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, originally, this meeting was supposed to be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in addition to Yasser Arafat. Mr. Barak decided at the last moment in Paris that he didn't want to come because he felt that the issue of a international investigation into the causes of the clashes was not to his satisfaction. He wanted it to be investigated by the United States. The Palestinians wanted it to be a joint Egyptian and French investigation. So certainly there's a good deal of disappointment here, that what was billed as a very important summit has ended up really being nothing more than a very important and high level, but nonetheless just a brainstorming session, in which Egyptian, Palestinian and U.S. officials have been able to discuss and review the events of the last seven days, the very bloody clashes that have taken place. But without Prime Minister Barak here there is very little they can do at this point to move the process ahead. We have been told, of course, that the U.S. officials are in very close contact with Mr. Barak, and they're passing ideas back and forth. But, at the moment, the mood is very downbeat. I spoke with the Egyptian foreign minister just a little while ago, and he said quite grimly, the situation is not very good.</s>STOUFFER: Ben Wedeman, on the phone with us from Egypt, thank you very much.
Barak Departs Paris Peace Talks