Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scrambling to come up with alternatives, including a possible pullout from just five Jewish settlements, after his Likud Party overwhelmingly rejected a withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, a senior government official said today.

Two Israeli motorists have now been killed by Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank today as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said an official cooling-off period to precede peace talks would not start until such attacks end.