The Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr Shlomo Ben-Ami, has accused Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat of deliberately choosing to resort to violence.
Speaking to the French newspaper Liberation, he said: "Arafat was on the defensive, and he chose violence deliberately to force Israel to a diktat."
Mr Ben-Ami, who was in Paris for a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, said the Palestinians had broken the stipulations of the summit earlier this month at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which ended with a ceasefire declaration. "What's the good of agreements if they are not respected?" he asked.
Mr Ben-Ami also told Liberation that Israel was ready for an end to the violence and for new negotiations.