Israel freezes contacts with Palestinians

The flare-up on Sunday in the occupied West Bank, including Israel's killing of a senior Islamic militant, came a month after the Jewish state completed its pullout from the Gaza Strip to end 38 years of military rule.

The latest fighting raised new doubts about an already shaky eight-month-old ceasefire and undermined hopes the Gaza pullout would spur renewed peacemaking.

Despite that, Palestinian Presid-ent Mahmoud Abbas planned to go ahead with talks with US President George W. Bush this week on how to resuscitate a "road map" peace plan, an aide said.

Demanding a Palestinian crackdown on militants, Israel said it was suspending all security contacts with the Palestinian Authority, which had been expanded in recent months with coordination of the pullout from the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel told the Palestinian Authority the freeze applied to diplomatic contacts as well. Israel's Foreign Ministry denied this.

Israeli forces erected roadblocks at entrances to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, an area under Palestinian security control from which Sunday's attackers were thought to have come.

Troops also closed the main entrance to the neighbouring West Bank city of Hebron and imposed closures near Ramallah.

Rolling back an easing of restrictions gradually implemented since a February ceasefire took effect, Palestinian cars were banned from certain roads in the West Bank.

The army also arrested 19 suspected militants in raids in the territory, where troops have kept most major towns and cities encircled during a five-year-old Palestinian uprising.

"As a result of yesterday's attacks we are taking defensive action on the ground to prevent future occurrences," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. "There is also a temporary suspension of contacts between the Defence Ministry and military personnel and Palestinian counterparts."