Mary Robinson has sent a strong message to Israel and the Palestinians to summon up the political will to end the current violence. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is in Lebanon as part of a Middle East tour.
Mrs Robinson called on Arab and Western powers to redouble their efforts to revive peace talks between the two sides. This call comes as Israeli forces carried out fresh attacks on Palestinian targets in the wake of a shooting in Tel Aviv that left three Israelis dead and dozens injured.
Helicopters launched missiles at a Palestinian security building in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli Navy also fired on the compound in Gaza of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
At least three Israelis were killed and up to 20 wounded in the Tel Aviv shooting as a Palestinian gunman opened fire at a restaurant. The gunman was shot dead by police.
The gunman is reported to have been armed with three grenades, a knife and an M-16 rifle, which he fired into the restaurant on one of the city's main streets.
A suicide bomber has reportedly blown himself up on a bus, killing an Israeli and injuring five others in the Northern Israeli city of Afula.
In another attack, an Israeli woman was shot dead near the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Israeli military sources said that the woman was killed in an exchange of gunfire between Palestinian and Israeli troops.
Four Palestinians are also reported to have been injured by an explosion in a school playground in East Jerusalem. Claiming responsibility for the attack, an anonymous caller to a radio station said that the motive was to "avenge Jewish children killed by Palestinian terrorists.
An Israeli government spokesman has accused Yasser Arafat of being "directly responsible" for this morning's string of attacks. These incidents follow a day of reprisal attacks by Israeli forces in which at least 16 Palestinians were killed. The raids were in response to last weekend's killing of 21 Israelis by Palestinian militants.
In a separate development, US President Bush and the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, are meeting in Washington today for talks on the Middle East. Egypt wants the United States to be more active in mediating between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Mubarak is also calling for a summit meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and Mr Arafat. Mr Bush has again said that Mr Arafat must do more to stop attacks on Israelis.
