Israel on alert against suicide bombings

Israel's security forces have been put on high alert in case of any new bomb attack by Islamic militants.

Extra patrols have been sent to markets, shopping centres and bus stations, and roadblocks put in place outside Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities.

Security measures have been stepped up after the Defence Minister, Yitzhak Mordechai, said on television on Friday that he had received information about a possible suicide bombing in one of Israel's main cities.

Mr Mordechai said Israel and the Palestinian Authority had agreed to establish a security hotline to help prevent possible attacks.

The Israeli army arrested five Palestinians suspected of links to Islamic radical groups outside the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Two suicide bombings in Jerusalem last July and September killed 21 Israelis.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service