Israel has called off planned peace talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. This has weakened hopes of ending almost a year of violence.
Talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Mr Arafat had been provisionally scheduled for Gaza tomorrow. These will not now go ahead, at the behest of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Earlier today, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at Palestinian security targets in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, at least seven missiles hit targets in Gaza City, two struck sites in Rafah near Gaza's border with Egypt and two were fired at the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Eleven Palestinians are reported to have been wounded. The Israeli army said the attacks were in response to "unremitting mortar fire" at Jewish settlements in the area.
Shortly before the simultaneous attacks, Israeli tanks and bulldozers staged a 500-metre incursion into autonomous Palestinian territory in Qarara, east of the central Gaza Strip. Earlier today, two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip in circumstances that have yet to be determined.
Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington that killed thousands of people on Tuesday, Palestinians have accused Israel of tightening its grip on the occupied territories and stepping up military operations.
