Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat was meeting US envoy Mr David Satterfield today to discuss ways to end nine months of Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
Palestinian mourners prepared to bury two militants killed yesterday after two days of violence that indicated a US-brokered ceasefire was no closer to taking root than at any time since it was agreed a month ago.
The Israeli army said its troops had returned fire overnight after Palestinians threw eight grenades towards its outpost on the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah and fired at an army post in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza.
There were no reports of injuries in the incidents, or in separate bursts of Palestinian fire near Ramallah and Hebron.
Mr Satterfield, until recently the US ambassador to Lebanon and now deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, was likely to urge Mr Arafat to do more to arrest the militants Israel suspects of launching attacks against Israelis.
Israel says it cannot even begin implementing the confidence-building measures proposed by a panel under former U.S. senator George Mitchell until there have bee n seven days without any Palestinian violence. The Palestinians, for their part, accuse it of provoking violence with its own attacks.
One of those being buried today was a member of the Islamic militant group Hamas who died when his car exploded outside his store in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.
Hamas accused Israel, which last week reaffirmed a policy of launching strikes at those it held responsible for attacks against Israelis, of assassinating him.
Israel has not admitted to killing Badran but Israel Radio said Israel blamed him for two recent suicide attacks in the city of Netanya that killed at least nine Israelis.
The other man being buried was also a Hamas militant who was shot in Gaza after throwing a hand grenade at Israeli soldiers defusing a bomb.
The West Bank town of Hebron, the scene yesterday of one of the fiercest battles since the Palestinian revolt against occupation began, was quiet this morning.