Meanwhile, Israel’s truce with the Hamas-led government in Gaza is now in its fourth day. On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz dismissed calls to extend the ceasefire to the West Bank.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz: “The basic understanding is that we are talkng about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip only. We are operating in the West Bank in order to prevent attacks against Israeli settlements and against attempts to carry out attacks inside Israel, and therefore all of the operations being carried out in this area is legitimate and defensive, prevention, and therefore, when we reach some sort of understanding about stopping the terrorist attacks that happen here, we will reconsider the way in which Israeli forces operate.”