The United States has called on Israel to withdraw its troops at once from all Palestinian-controlled areas and stay out in future.
"The government of Israel has told us that it does not intend to remain in those areas. Israeli defense forces should be withdrawn immediately from all Palestinian-controlled areas and no further such incursions should be made," State Department spokesman Mr Philip Reeker said at a briefing.
He also called on the Palestinian Authority of President Yasser Arafat to do all in its power to halt the ongoing violence and "bring to justice the terrorists whose actions are betraying Palestinian interests".
Meanwhile, a Palestinian man was killed today and a second man critically wounded when a car they were travelling in exploded in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian witnesses and medical officials said.
The circumstances of the blast which killed the man, identified by hospital officials as Azmi al-Masri, were not immediately clear.
Israel has tracked and killed more than 60 Palestinian militants it says are behind attacks on Israelis in a year-long Palestinian uprising. Palestinian militants have also been killed as they prepared explosives.