Arafat Calls For Fresh Protests

Many of the injured were reportedly in critical condition. Hospitals called on local people to donate blood.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for fresh demonstrations, but said demonstrators should not go near Israeli barricades.

Arab Israelis have called for a one-day strike to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, it was not clear this morning whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would meet Israeli President Hosni Mubarak and Arafat in the course of the day. A summit is planned for the weekend.

The Israeli cabinet decided to boost security in the west bank city of Nablus after a six-hour emergency session to address the serious escalation of violence in the occupied territories.

The security cabinet opted to beef up the military presence at Yosef's tomb site in Nablus in order to protect it from a possible attack by Palestinians, it was reported.

Participants in the session were expecting the Palestinian protests to continue and were bracing for the worst.

The issue of closing down the ancient tunnel in the old city of Jerusalem, the opening of which earlier this week sparked the latest clashes, was not even put on the agenda of the cabinet meeting.