We do not want the committee to start dealing with issues that might increase the already inflamed emotions and widen the differences between the sides. Liel said the committee will do most of its work based on written reports from both sides and will not interview individuals without notifying Israeli or Palestinian authorities. Members of the committee insisted that they would be impartial but confirmed the limited scope of their mandate. The committee will spend the next few days in consultations in Egypt and Jordan. The current round of violence erupted after right-wing Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon and a small army of police visited a Jerusalem compound that is Judaism's holiest site but also home to the Al Aqsa mosque, which is sacred to Muslims.
Heated demonstrations spread in succeeding days to the West Bank and Gaza.
On Monday, Israeli troops shot dead a prominent member of the radical Islamic Jihad group in the West Bank city of Nablus.