The Israeli Government has said that it is giving the Palestinian authorities 24 hours to impose a ceasefire agreed between the two sides early on Thursday, hours before a car bomb exploded in west Jerusalem, killing two Israelis. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, has said that he regretted that the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, had not publicly urged his people to curb violence under the truce.
However, Yasser Arafat condemned the attack saying that Palestinians were completely against today's explosion. The attack has been claimed by a militant group based in Lebanon, the Islamic Jihad. Israel has said that it holds the Palestinian Authority responsible by releasing Islamic militants at the start of the unrest in September.
It is understood that the explosion took place in a busy market in a mainly Jewish area of the city. An unconfirmed report says that the daughter of Yitzhak Levy, the leader of Israel's right wing National Religious Party, was one of those killed. Meanwhile, another Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem.
Earlier, the Israeli Deputy Defence Minister, Ephraim Sneh, said that the blast would not affect the ceasefire deal agreed last night by Israel and the Palestinians, to end five weeks of clashes in which at least 165 people have been killed. The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has demanded the Palestinian Authority round up Islamic militants who are being blamed for the bombing.
It was earlier reported that the formal announcement of the new Middle East ceasefire by the Israelis and the Palestinians had been delayed. Israeli public television said that there were technical reasons for the delay. The ceasefire agreement was reached during late night talks in Gaza between the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and Israeli minister Shimon Peres. The Palestinian leadership called on Palestinians to use only peaceful means in their struggle with Israel for an independent state. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, spoke by telephone today with Mr Arafat on implementing the deal.
Israeli tanks started to pull back from positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip this morning. The Israeli army also lifted a blockade on most Palestinian towns in the West Bank that had been in force for much of the past five weeks of violence. Despite these moves, further clashes erupted and one Palestinian youth was shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank.
Previous ceasefire agreements failed to hold and it remains to be seen whether the latest order to cease hostilities will be effective following the car bomb blast. Six Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were killed in yesterday's clashes. The Israeli security cabinet later met in emergency session to discuss retaliation but any planned action was halted because of the ceasefire. But if the violence continues, a serious military escalation on Israel's part looks inevitable.
