A Palestinian man has stabbed to death one person and wounded two others in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
The assailant (23) was shot and arrested after the attack early today - the first assault by a Palestinian in an Israeli city since militant groups announced a three-month truce on June 29th.
The attacker, who was from East Jerusalem, stabbed a security guard who prevented him entering the open-air Tarabin restaurant at around 1.30 a.m. in Israel's main commercial city, police said.
He then stabbed two passersby as he fled along a promenade by the Mediterranean Sea. Another security guard eventually shot the Palestinian about 500 yards from the restaurant.
The stabbings underlined the current truce's fragility as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met British leaders in London, and it overshadowed West Bank talks at which Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas mended fences with President Yasser Arafat.
The truce declared by the main Palestinian militant groups has fuelled cautious optimism that a US-backed "road map" to peace will end 33 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
But some militant groups have pledged to ignore the ceasefire and sporadic violence has continued.
Mr Sharon failed at his talks in London to convince Prime Minister Tony Blair or Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to cut Britain's ties with Arafat.
Israel accuses Mr Arafat of fomenting violence in the 33-month-old Palestinian uprising for independence. It and the United States have isolated the Palestinian president.
Mr Arafat denies the charge and Palestinians say it is Mr Sharon who is blocking peacemaking progress by refusing requests to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners.