THREE hooded men shot dead the head of Palestinian television at close range in the Gaza Strip as pessimism deepened over Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects. The Palestinian leadership quickly accused ”collaborators” with Israel of killing 54-year-old Hisham Mikki, an associate of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Despite the murder, Israeli and Palestinian sources said Arafat and Israel’s chief peace negotiator, Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, would hold hastily arranged talks in Cairo. – Reuters