Israel's Defence Ministry has said its field commanders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have held talks with their Palestinian counterparts in an effort to calm violence. The meetings appeared to be a first step by Israel towards beginning a withdrawal from West Bank and Gaza territory it reoccupied following the increase in Palestinian attacks.
The Palestinians have made a ceasefire sought by the US envoy, Anthony Zinni, conditional on a full Israeli pullout from all Palestinian-run areas.
The militant Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad, has meanwhile claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in east Jerusalem in which eleven people were injured. A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, said the attack showed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's "bad faith" in efforts to secure a truce.
Anthony Zinni began talks with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah in the West Bank hours after the incident. Mr Zinni vowed to press ahead with his ceasefire mission.
Meanwhile, the US Vice President Dick Cheney says he hopes that a ceasefire can be agreed between Palestinians and Israel by tomorrow. Mr Cheney, who is on an 11-nation Middle East tour, said his talks with Arab leaders on extending the war on terrorism had been dominated by the situation in the Middle East. He is due to arrive in Israel tomorrow.
Earlier, one woman was killed and nine others were injured when a Palestinian gunman opened fire in the central Israeli town of Kfar Saba, before being shot dead by police. Meanwhile, there's been heavy gunfire in Bethlehem where Israeli tanks are advancing towards the centre of the town.
A member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of Mr Arafat's Fatah group, was killed in the fighting, according to Palestinian sources. Another six tanks moved into the nearby village of Beit Jala and four more into Ad-Doha, a village facing the refugee camp of Deheishe, where there were also earlier clashes between gunmen and Israeli soldiers stationed there.
A Palestinian girl shot by Israeli troops three days ago in the Gaza Strip died of her wounds during the day, Palestinian hospital sources said.
