Israel is expected to extend the warning period that Prime Minister Ehud Barak gave the Palestinian Authority to end the violence that has been raging for 12 days in Palestine, reported Qatar-based Al Jazira satellite channel.
Barak claimed that the Palestinian leadership was to be held responsible for the bloody clashes in which the Israeli forces killed more than 90 Palestinians and injured thousands.
The UN Security Council on Saturday condemned Israel for an "excessive use of force" against Palestinian demonstrators.
"The government is inclined to decide to give Arafat more time ... the prime minister is willing to give the Palestinians an extension following requests from senior world leaders and despite the fact that the Palestinians have not changed their pattern of behavior," Israeli cabinet spokesman Nachman Shai said, quoted by AFP.
He spoke to reporters as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak continued to weigh options with his cabinet following the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum demanding Arafat end the violence or risk the collapse of the peace talks, said the agency.
"The government has instructed the army and the police to act forcefully in areas of their responsibility in order to prevent violence," Shai added.
BARAK LEAVES DOOR OPEN TO MIDEAST SUMMIT, AMID CONTINUING VIOLENCE
Barak told the extraordinary session of his cabinet that he does not rule out a summit to end the violence raging in the Middle East, his office said early Tuesday, quoted by AFP.
"Barak said that he is not ruling out a summit which would put an end to the violence and create the right circumstances for the renewal of negotiations according to Clinton's proposal, but it is still unclear if such a summit will take place," the office said in a statement.
The White House said earlier that the necessary conditions for a summit between Barak, US President Bill Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were not yet in place.
The statement was issued after Barak spoke at the cabinet meeting called to discuss options after the expiry of a deadline set by Israel for the Palestinians to call a halt to the violence or risk a collapse of the peace process.
"We called for an end to the violence but to our regret, Arafat, who is responsible for its outbreak, did not bring it to an end. No government can accept a continuation of this situation," Barak was quoted as saying.
"We all want peace with the Palestinians but their leadership is currently not ripe to take such courageous decisions despite our far-reaching proposals," he added.
"We must guard our vital interests, and peace will arrive only when our neighbors recognize that every side has vital interests they cannot give up."
An official present at the meeting, which was still going in the early hours of Tuesday, said some top security officials were calling for Israel to "act with force to stop the violence."
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Israeli army said that the closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, due to end Monday, has been extended open-endedly, according to ANN satellite channel.
Reports from the West Bank said that Jewish settlers in Hebron attacked Arab villages around the city, while the Israeli forces were showering residential areas with 800mm bullets from helicopters, injuring a number, said the Palestinian official TV late Monday.
The ANN said that clashes were still underway in Jerusalem between Jewish settlers and Arab residents of the city. Six Palestinians have been injured in the offensive.
But in an alarming development, the violence has now spread to clashes between Israeli civilians and Jewish settlers against Arab Israelis and Palestinians.
Arabs were defending themselves with guns against with Jews in the cities of Lud and Ramla. Almost 100 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in street battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian demonstrators -- (Several Sources)
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