Jerusalem: Israel and Palestinian hardliners on August 24 rejected a proposal by the Palestinian leadership for a new ceasefire after the collapse of a seven-week-old truce amid a new spate of violence.

The radical group Hamas also reiterated its vow to carry out new suicide bombings in response to Israeli attacks, including an air strike that killed one of its senior officials and two bodyguards in Gaza.

Palestinian officials said a new truce was possible if the Israelis formally recognised it, pulled out of occupied towns and ended their practice of "targeted killings" of militant leaders.

But Israel, which considered the truce dead after a suicide bombing on August 19 that killed 21 passengers on a Jerusalem bus, dismissed the suggestion of a new ceasefire.

Agencies