Israel moves more troops into West Bank

Israeli soldiers, tanks and military vehicles have taken up new positions in the West Bank, fuelling fears that a tentative ceasefire brokered by CIA director George Tenet has all but collapsed.

The Israeli troops erected new roadblocks, searched Palestinian vehicles and boosted their presence around Palestinian towns as tensions and violence escalated.

The move is seen as a response to a Hezbollah suicide bomb attack on the Israeli town Binyamina, which killed two Israeli soldiers.

Israel has denied that it is preparing for an all-out assault to topple Yasser Arafat from power.