A ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians remains an uncertain prospect after a coalition of Palestinian factions pledged to continue their uprising. Representatives of the factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, met to consider the Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat's call for a ceasefire, in the wake of the suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed 20 people.
Officials from the Palestinian Authority said that they had taken steps to implement a ceasefire and had told all Palestinian factions that they would not tolerate any further attacks inside Israel. The latest moves came as the funerals began for some of the victims of Friday night's suicide bomb attack. Most of the 20 victims were teenagers.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has meanwhile said that Mr Arafat must take three immediate steps to carry out a promise to do his utmost to achieve a ceasefire after months of violence. He said that Mr Arafat must end incitement; to end acts of terror and violence; and to re-arrest all the many terrorists freed and who stood behind terror activities today. Israel has so far held back retaliation for the Tel Aviv bombing.
The Israeli Cabinet had warned the Palestinians to act immediately against Islamic militant groups or face intense military action. A minister said today that Israel was giving Yasser Arafat "one or two days" to test his commitment to the ceasefire.
Danny Naveh, minister without portfolio, told Israeli public television: "What is important is not Arafat's declaration but what happens on the ground, and in one or two days we will know. I am sceptical of Arafat's true intentions and I have strong fears that this is only a new manoeuvre on his part." Mr Naveh, a member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party, added that if the violence persists, Israel should "put an end to its policy of restraint and treat the Palestinian Authority as a terrorist organisation".
