Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has renewed his appeal for a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire after a spiral of violence the past few days.

Israeli forces killed at least eight more Palestinians Thursday in the Gaza Strip and West Bank - continuing assaults started after Tuesday's killing of six Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. Seventeen Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday. Israel has been attacking by air, land and sea.

Thursday's victims included six Palestinians killed during an Israeli tank incursion in Rafah. One Palestinian man was shot by Israeli troops while trying to cross a checkpoint near Ramallah. A Palestinian gunman and an Israeli Arab riding with him were killed during an exchange of gunfire with Israeli troops at another West Bank checkpoint.

Israeli troops and tanks entered Palestinian-ruled Gaza City overnight and blew up the Voice of Palestine radio-television building. Meanwhile, Palestinian police say they have arrested three men suspected in the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister more than five months ago. Israel has made the arrest and trial or hand-over of the killers a condition for ending its blockade of Mr. Arafat. The Israeli army has kept the Palestinian leader confined to the West Bank town of Ramallah since December.

Palestinian military intelligence chief, Talal Dweikat, identified the detainees as two men accused of direct involvement in the assassination. The third man was described as an accomplice. All are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The group says it killed Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi last October to avenge Israel's killing of the PFLP leader.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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