Israeli and Palestinian gunfire overnight in the West Bank and Gaza Strip followed a day of bomb blasts and missile strikes.
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Mr Ariel Sharon
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Palestinian gunmen fired on Israeli positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last night, the Israeli army said, after a day of violence that included two Israeli missile strikes and a Palestinian suicide bombing.
Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Shimon Peres and Defence Minister Mr Binyamin Ben-Eliezer called for high-level talks with Palestinian officials on ending their uprising against Israeli occupation.
But Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon, on a one-day trip to Turkey, repeated a pledge not to hold peace talks until violence completely ended and he criticised his Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat.
"It's important for him to decide if he wants to stand at the head of an independent state and act accordingly or if he wants to stand at the head of a gang of murderers," Mr Sharon said.
Over 650 people have been killed, most of them Palestinians, since the start last September of a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.