At least ten Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers during a day of widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza strip. Palestinian radio says that over 200 people were wounded. In another incident, six Israeli soldiers were shot and wounded when Palestinian policemen opened fire on their bus. Both sides have accused each other over the day's events. There has been a furious response from Palestinian leaders who accused the Israelis of embarking on a killing rampage.
The Israelis accused the Palestinian leadership of failing to meet today's 48-hour deadline for ending the violence. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, says that he now wants to take time out from the Middle East peace process agreed earlier this week in Egypt for a complete reassessment. Ehud Barak has warned that his government would do all it could to protect the country's vital interests. He was speaking as the deadline approached for an end to the violence of the past three weeks which has resulted in the deaths of more than 110 people, most of them Palestinians.
Israel has said that it will not co-operate with the United Nations commission of inquiry into alleged Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians. Yesterday, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Commission set up an international inquiry into the violence in the Middle East. The UN has condemned Israel for what it called "widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights". Earlier, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said that developments today will be crucial in testing the seriousness of the Israelis and Palestinians in implementing their ceasefire agreement. With a UN General Assembly debate on the crisis due to resume, Mr Annan reiterated his call for everyone to be restrained in their use of language about the current conflict in the Middle East.
The White House has said that President Clinton telephoned both Ehud Barak and the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, to express his concern about the incidents of violence that occurred yesterday. A spokeswoman said that President Clinton encouraged both men to implement steps that are called for in the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement.
