After almost nine months of violence and killings, Israel and the Palestinians have accepted a blueprint for a cessation of hostilities between the two sides

After almost nine months of violence and killings, Israel and the Palestinians have accepted a blueprint for a cessation of hostilities between the two sides, but not without reservations and outright rejection of some clauses in the plan, U.S. sources told CNN early Wednesday. The deal -- which fulfills the first requirement of the Mitchell committee report to stop the violence -- was hammered out in meetings with CIA Director George Tenet. He left Ramallah early Wednesday after completing the proposal, the sources said, and is expected to spend the night in Jerusalem. A statement from the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv said the United States was pleased about the proposed plan. Palestinians accepted Tenet's proposed blueprint early Wednesday, Palestinian sources said, but they rejected a clause proposing a buffer zone around Palestinian-controlled areas. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, in a letter to Tenet, noted his acceptance of the blueprint and his rejection of the buffer zone clause, and said the timetable for lifting Israeli closures of Palestinian territories should follow the Sharm el-Sheik agreement, according to Palestinian sources. That deal called for closures to be lifted 48 hours after a cessation of hostilities agreement was reached.