A Palestinian suicide bombing in Gaza and an Israeli security alert that clogged the approaches to Tel Aviv airport for hours have again underlined the failure of the US-brokered ceasefire to quell nine months of violence.
However, the Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Shimon Peres today claimed that Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat had promised renewed efforts to deal with militant groups targetting Israelis.
In the West Bank, a roadside bomb explosion killed a 22-year-old Israeli army captain overnight as his jeep passed near the flashpoint city of Hebron. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.
Adding to Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Israeli wrecking crews escorted by hundreds of paramilitary border police demolished 14 houses in Shuafat refugee camp in Arab East Jerusalem. Israel says they were built illegally.
Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Shimon Peres - who usually takes a more upbeat view than his senior partner in the governing coalition - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, spoke of renewed efforts by Palestinian President Mr Yasser Arafat to prop up the truce.
"The Palestinians told the Americans and us that on Saturday night there was a meeting held by Arafat where they decided to take very serious steps to calm things in the field," Mr Peres said.
Speaking to members of his party, he said the moves would include arrests of Islamic militants by the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian officials were unavailable for comment.
Nonetheless, Israel's security measures were evident in the long lines of stopped cars and frustrated airline passengers who were delayed in the stifling summer heat on their way to Ben-Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv.
A police spokeswoman said security checks were stepped up at the entrances to the airport after information that Palestinian militants were planning a bombing there.
Although tourism has dropped significantly since the start of a Palestinian uprising last September, Israelis have been flocking to Ben-Gurion in recent weeks to fly abroad for summer holidays.