Israeli security forces were on full alert Friday following a car-bomb attack that killed two people at a central Jerusalem market, amid fears that new violence would collapse the latest fragile truce with the Palestinians.
Witnesses said police and troops were out in force at shopping centers, bus stations and other public places, particularly in Jerusalem.
Israelis have also been warned to be on their guard, particularly in buses, which have been the target of suicide bombers in the past.
Panic struck a popular market in Jewish west Jerusalem Thursday when the explosives-laden car blew up, wounding at least nine people besides those who died.
The blast, claimed by the hardline Islamic Jihad movement, brought the death toll from five weeks of violence to 174, most of them Palestinians.
The police also announced that only Palestinians aged 45 or over would be allowed to attend Friday prayers at the sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound, just one week after the minimum age was lowered to 35.
Militant Palestinian groups have declared every Friday a "day of rage" in the West Front and Gaza Strip, and heightened rioting following the mosque prayers has been a regular feature of the violent unrest.
The car-bomb blew up as Israelis and Palestinians were trying to put into effect an accord struck just hours previously by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres.
The Israeli security cabinet decided late Thursday to give the Palestinian authorities 24 hours to implement measures to quell the violence, Israeli radio reported.
The cabinet, meeting to decide on possible reprisals against the Palestinians following the car-bomb, granted the 24-hour delay in the hope of salvaging the deal, the report added.
Reacting to the cabinet decision, senior Palestinian officials said Friday that Israel must take action to bring calm.
"As they want us to respect it (the truce), they must respect it. The pullback of the Israeli forces, the halting of firing, and the lifting of the closure (on the Palestinian territories) are the path to returning to calm and stability," Palestinian international cooperation minister Nabil Shaath told AFP.
A senior Israeli official admitted Friday that Arafat had no magic wand to stop the violence and played down the reported 24-hour deadline.
"We have noted that orders and instructions (from Arafat) have been given, but the results do not satisfy us at all," Danny Yatom, principal adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Danny Yatom said on Israeli army radio.
But he added, "It's a process. It was quite clear that Yasser Arafat could not stop all violent activities with a magic wand."
Referring to the deadline, Yatom said, "I suggest we should not be constantly looking at our watches and counting every minute".
He said Israel was expecting a rapid reduction in anti-Israeli violence, which erupted after Israeli right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound, a site sacred to Jews as well as Muslims, on September 28.
"We may perceive in the next few hours a more effective implementation of the instructions and orders given by Arafat to reduce the violence," Yatom said.
"We must look at what happens on the ground, to see if there are actions as well as words, a real willingness and capacity of the Palestinian Authority to achieve calm."
Arafat's self-rule authority issued a statement Thursday calling for demonstrations to continue against the Israeli occupation but said they should be peaceful.
Arafat also condemned the car bomb, but a joint statement intended to be issued after his meeting with Peres was never made, reportedly because of disagreement over the wording.
Peres said Thursday that steps to resume the peace process might be envisaged once there were two days without shooting and funerals, and in an interview on public radio Friday he also said Arafat could not end the violence "by pushing a button."
"Yasser Arafat cannot control everyone who carries a gun, and we must not forget that he also has opponents," Peres said. "We may have to wait several days before the results of his instructions are seen on the ground."
The Israeli army said it had implemented measures stipulated in the truce deal, including pulling back tanks, but clashes continued to occur in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip well into the night.
The Palestinian airport, situated in the southern Gaza Strip, also remained closed and the Palestinian territories remained sealed off from Israel – JERUSALEM (AFP)
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