Israeli troops have moved into the West Bank town of Ramallah today, hours after Yasser Arafat named a new, streamlined Cabinet and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was to meet US president George Bush in Washington.

Israeli troops have shot and killed two Palestinians who attacked an army post with grenades, and militant Islamic groups said they would ignore any truce deal, complicating US efforts to arrange a ceasefire.

A suicide bomber blew himself up on the patio of a restaurant near the Israeli coastal town of Haifa today, wounding up to 20 people.