Recently dismantled checkpoints have been reinstalled
|
Israel has re-imposed a series of restrictions on Palestinians travelling through the West Bank following the killing of three Jewish settlers.
The Israeli government says it has also temporarily suspended security contacts with the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian militant group al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade claimed responsibility for the two attacks, but Israeli officials suspect Hamas involvement.
The attacks ended a lull in violence following Israel's Gaza withdrawal.
Israel said it would reverse a decision made a few weeks ago to relax travel restrictions for Palestinians in the West Bank during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
This includes reinstalling a number of checkpoints and roadblocks that had been dismantled, blocking exits from Bethlehem and Hebron and banning Palestinian cars from some main West Bank roads.
"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."
Israel accuses the Palestinian Authority of not doing enough to stop such attacks.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he was "sorry" for the killings, adding that such acts caused "enormous damage to the ceasefire that all Palestinian organisations are committed to respect".
Speaking in France, where he is holding talks with President Jacques Chirac, he said he was sure talks with the Israelis would "resume as quickly as possible because we have many issues to discuss".
Earlier, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat urged Israel to reconsider the restrictions saying "angry messages, collective punishment and violence will just add to the complexities".
The recent events are likely to increase pressure on Mr Abbas' trip to Washington for talks with President Bush this week, says the BBC's Matthew Price in Jerusalem.
Hunting attackers
The funerals have been held of the three Israelis, including one teenager, who were shot dead in the drive-by attack at a hitchhiking post near the Gush Etzion settlement on Sunday.
Matat Adler-Rosenfeld, 21, and her cousin Kinneret Mandel, 23, were travelling back to their settlement of Carmel, south of Hebron, when they were killed.
Ms Mandel's parents were among the founders of Carmel and she was the first child born there.
The funerals have been held of the three Israeli settlers shot dead
|
Fourteen-year-old Oz Ben-Meir, from Ma'on settlement, also near Hebron, was on his way to Jerusalem with a friend, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported.
One Israeli was seriously wounded in another attack minutes later when militants targeted an Israeli vehicle in a drive-by shooting near the settlement of Eli.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which has loose ties to the ruling Fatah party, claimed responsibility for both attacks.
But Israeli security officials say the Islamic militant group Hamas, which is still officially observing the ceasefire, might have been involved.
Large numbers of Israeli troops were sent to the area to hunt down the attackers. The army said 19 suspected militants were arrested in overnight raids.
Also on Sunday, a top Islamic Jihad militant was killed in a shoot-out near the northern West Bank town of Jenin after reportedly being spotted during a routine patrol.
Nihad Abu Ghanim, 27, died after being shot in the head, abdomen and chest, Palestinian hospital officials said.
Palestinian militant factions began a ceasefire early this year, but low-level violence has continued.
Al-Aqsa militants in Jenin said they were ending their truce after an Israeli raid in which three militants were killed at the end of September.