Israel will continue to hold peace talks with the Palestinians next week despite a shooting attack that killed eight Israelis at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, government officials said Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speak briefly in January ahead of a bi-monthly negotiation session between the two sides in Jerusalem.
(Associated Press)

The officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity since there was no official announcement yet. A Palestinian negotiator had said that one negotiating session would be held Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called for Israel not to abandon peace efforts despite a recent escalation of violence.

Under pressure from U.S. brokers, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have pledged to work toward a peace agreement by the end of the year. But the followup meetings to a U.S.-hosted summit in November have been threatened by increased violence in Gaza and continued militant rocket attacks on southern Israeli towns.

On Thursday, eight Israelis were killed when a Palestinian gunman attacked the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem. Nine others, including a Canadian teenager, were wounded.

Israeli officials said the victims, who were laid to rest Friday, were aged 15 to 19 except one, who was 26.

The attack began in the evening when the gunman entered the seminary's main gate and went into the library, where witnesses said 80 students were gathered for a crowded nighttime study session. The attacker opened fire with an assault rifle and a pistol, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

As the gunman fired, students scrambled to flee, jumping out of windows. Rosenfeld said at least six empty bullet clips were found on the floor.

Police arrest 8 in attack

The gunman, identified as 25-year-old Alaa Abu Dhaim, was killed at the scene of the attack by an off-duty army officer who lived close to the seminary, officials said.

Police have arrested eight people, including a number of Abu Dhaim's relatives, in connection with the attack and are trying to determine whether he acted alone or received help from militant groups.

The attack comes as the latest challenge to stalled peace negotiations, which have been bogged down by violence and land disputes since their renewal in November.

The West Bank-based Abbas, who has no authority in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, suspended negotiations last week after Israeli air strikes and ground forces in Gaza killed more than 100 Palestinians over several days. But U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later convinced Abbas to rejoin the process. 

At least four Israeli soldiers were killed during the fighting in Gaza, which was launched in response to heavy rocket fire, including one attack that killed an Israeli father of four last week in the rocket-scarred town of Sderot.

With files fromt the Associated Press