Moves are underway to arrange a meeting between the former Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, and the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, in an attempt to broker a solution to the violence which saw five more Palestinian civilians shot dead by Israeli soldiers yesterday.
Officials at the Shifa hospital in Gaza said four Palestinians died in clashes at the Karni commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel. Another Palestinian was shot dead in skirmishes on the West Bank at al-Jalazon refugee camp. A Palestinian policeman was declared brain dead after being shot on the sidelines of a clash between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the village of Khader near Bethlehem. Meanwhile, Israeli police said Marik Gavrielov (25), whose scorched and bullet-riddled body was found in the Palestinian-ruled West Bank village of Betounia at the weekend, had been the victim of an anti-Israeli attack.
The killing brought to 11 the number of Israelis killed in the latest violence; over 140 Arabs have died.
If the Arafat-Peres meeting goes ahead, it will be the first high-level public contact between the Israelis and the Palestinians since the October summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm elSheikh attended by Mr Arafat and the current Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak.
The United Nations SecretaryGeneral, Mr Kofi Annan, has expressed increasing concern at the continuing wave of violence and called on both sides to abide by commitments they made at Sharm el-Sheikh. Asked by a reporter whether Mr Annan had any opinion about a Palestinian call for the Security Council to send an international protection force, a spokesman said: "No. That is a matter that is before the Security Council now."
The head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr Ahmed Korei, also known as Abu Ala, called for a "new mechanism" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At a press conference on the West Bank, he proposed an international conference with the participation of the United Nations, United States of America, European Union, Russia and China.
He had informed the US government on Monday about their demand for a new mechanism. An international effort for peace was supported by France's President, Mr Jacques Chirac, and the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin. But contacts between Mr Arafat and President Bill Clinton would continue.
He warned Israel was playing a "very dangerous game" in its tactics against the Palestinians such as the Monday night attacks on offices of the Fatah organisation.
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroeder, said during a visit to Jerusalem yesterday: "The violence must stop. I say that to anybody who is concerned." A correspondent for the US television network CNN was shot and injured as he was covering clashes between Israelis and Palestinians at the Karni crossing-point between the Gaza Strip and Israel.
In an open letter published in leading Arab and Israeli newspapers yesterday morning, the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said people in Ireland had taken great inspiration from the Middle Eastern peace process from its inception in Oslo in 1993.
"As a friend of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, I can only say please, please, please, put away the weapons and start talking," Mr Hume said.