Israel closed the Egyptian-Israeli border crossing of Rafah today,
stopping access to and from Palestinian areas in the Gaza Strip, border officials said.
The closure came after the killing of two Israelis, which prompted Israel to suspend peace talks with the Palestinians in Taba, Egypt.
The deaths brought the toll to at least 310 Palestinians, 47 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs killed since late September when Palestinians began an uprising against Israeli occupation.
Late last night, Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ehud Barak recalled his top negotiators from Taba for morning consultations to determine whether Israel continued the push for peace less than two weeks before prime ministerial elections on February 6th.
"We cannot let the wretched murderers kill our peace process," Israeli negotiator Justice Minister Mr Yossi Beilin said after putting his bags in the car to the airport.
Palestinian negotiator, Mr Ahmed Korei said his team would remain at the venue but would be considering whether to return to the negotiating table.
Reuters