Taking advantage of its continued troop presence inside Palestinian areas of the West Bank, Israel yesterday shot dead two leading Islamic militants, gunned down two more Palestinian gunmen who it said had fired on an Israeli vehicle, and raided a village to arrest seven more alleged militants, one of whom it said had been about to embark on a suicide bombing.
The day's violence, coming on the eve of British Prime Minister Blair's visit here and in defiance of continuing American pressure for the army to pull back, served only to deepen Israeli and Palestinian leaders' frustration with each other. Aides to the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat, declared that Israel's relentless policy of assassinating alleged militants and blockading cities was only encouraging further radicalism; Israel's leaders asserted that since Mr Arafat was refusing to confront extremists planning attacks on its civilians, the army had no choice but to take action itself.
Mr Arafat and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, are likely to meet tomorrow at a conference in Spain, but it is unlikely that this will result in any substantive change in the current parlous state of Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Although Mr Peres says he is finalising a new peace initiative, Mr Sharon has instructed him neither to discuss it with Mr Arafat, nor indeed to enter any serious discussions with the Palestinian leader.
Mr Arafat asserted yesterday that he was "fully committed to pursue the peace process with the Israeli government". Mr Sharon vowed that he was "committed to peace" and would ultimately lead negotiations himself. But the Israeli Prime Minister is adamant that, for all Mr Arafat's recent talk of having arrested various militants, the most dangerous of them remain at large, and that until this changes, Mr Arafat should be isolated rather than wooed. Mr Sharon's aides noted yesterday that even the Gaza-based leader of Islamic Jihad, Mr Abdullah Shami, who was arrested by the PA on Tuesday evening after his group claimed responsibility for killing four women in the Israeli town of Hadera on Sunday, was immediately set free again.
The killing in Hebron yesterday of the Hamas militant, Mr Jamil Jadallah, hit by missiles fired by an Israeli helicopter, underlined the argument. Mr Jibril Rajoub, the PA's West Bank security chief, argued that such actions were merely inviting further terrorism and urged Israel to end the re-occupation of some Palestinian areas it has maintained since its Tourism Minister, Mr Rehavam Ze'evi, was assassination by Palestinian gunmen two weeks ago. Israeli officials countered that Mr Jadallah had been jailed for life by the PA itself for killing two Israelis, but had escaped from jail several times and had now been preparing a car-bomb attack.
A second Hamas militant, Mr Abdullah Jaroshi, was killed in the town of Tulkarm; this time, Israeli officials did not acknowledge responsibility. Near the Jewish settlement of Homesh, outside Nablus, troops shot dead two Palestinian gunmen who Israel said had just opened fire, without effect, on an Israeli vehicle. The men were said to be members of a militia affiliated to Mr Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO.
An Israeli commando unit also razed the village of Arabe, outside Jenin - inside Palestinian territory - and arrested an Islamic Jihad member who was said to have been about to carry out a suicide attack, and six others, including his alleged controller. At least two Palestinians were wounded in the raid, during which Israel used tanks and assault helicopters.