Khaled al-Masri and his mother were in their house when the Israeli occupation army shelled it, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Palestinian medical sources as saying.

The baby’s murder brings to 1,967 the number of Palestinians killed by Israel since the outbreak of Al-Aqsa Intifada against Israeli occupation September 28, 2000.

On Monday, November 12, two-year old Palestinian toddler Nafez Meshal was also killed by Israeli gunfire in Rafah, a scene of frequent Israeli aggressions.

Meanwhile, the United States conceded Monday that domestic political events in Israel had for the moment detoured significant progress in the development of a roadmap for Middle East peace.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher denied Israeli reports that the process had been "frozen," but noted that domestic political concerns in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories were not now conducive to the evolution of the roadmap.

"I wouldn't exactly call it frozen," he told reporters.

"What I would say is that domestic developments in both Israel and the Palestinian areas have always influenced the time table of our efforts.

"But the roadmap process is one that we want to continue," Boucher said.

"We will continue to proceed on both the document and the developments as we can and as is appropriate."

However, a senior State Department official said the reality of the situation - especially in Israel - meant that implementation of the ideas contained in the peace plan was essentially impossible.

"The reality is we're probably not going to get a big response and embrace from the Israeli side at this point of the document itself," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is engaged in a battle with his Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leadership of the radical ruling Likud party ahead of parliamentary elections expected as early as January.

The Palestinians are also expected to hold elections in early 2003, a critical element in the roadmap that calls for a provisional Palestinian state by next year and a definitive one by 2005.

Boucher stressed that Washington and its partners in the Quartet committee on the Middle East remained committed to the roadmap.

"We have to recognize that during election periods ... those steps may not be happening quite as quickly and automatically," he said.

"We'll take that into account and understand the fact that the parties are preoccupied with elections or other things."

Boucher noted that David Satterfield, the deputy U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, was now in the region speaking with all the parties about the roadmap.

Satterfield, who met with Israeli and Palestinian officials in occupied Jerusalem and Jericho Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, is to attend conference in Amman Thursday, November 14, on Palestinian reform.

He told reporters after his meeting with top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat and International Cooperation Minister Nabil Shaath that the talks had been "very serious and thorough".

"We did not give Satterfield our official position yet, but we discussed every aspect of getting the peace process back on track.

"We will give our answer in a few days, after more consultations with Arab leaders and the Palestinian leadership," Erakat said.