How long has the violence continued? [br] [originaltext] Palestinians conti

Palestinians continued to attack Israeli targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Friday, undermining efforts by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, to end the violence that has continued for nine months. Mr. Powell announced that there must be seven days of quiet to assess whether the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire agreement is holding and the two sides can take steps to return to peace talks. Violence flared just hours after Mr. Powell’ s departure from Israel Friday.
     Palestinian militants fired mortar bombs at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. And in the divided West Bank town of Hebron, Palestinian youths hurled rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli soldiers. The Israeli troops, who are there to protect the small community of Jewish settlers, fired on the Palestinians with rubber-coated metal bullets.
     Israeli leaders say that unless all such incidents are halted, they will not adopt the next steps in a plan promoted by Secretary of State Colin Powell to get the two sides back to the negotiating table.