Violence has flared across the West Bank, just hours after Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Israel has warned further military action against militants in Gaza is likely.

In east Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, Palestinian protesters set tyres ablaze and hurled stones at troops who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Earlier, Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip after a US appeal to end five days of fighting during which more than 100 Palestinians were killed, and rescue peace talks.

The Hamas Islamists who control the coastal territory declared "victory" and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel.

"We are in the midst of a combat action. What happened in recent days was not a one-time event," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly told a parliamentary panel.

"The objective is reducing the rocket fire and weakening Hamas," Mr Olmert said.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called on Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the brink" in the worsening crisis over Gaza.

Mr Miliband said he was "deeply concerned" by the decision of the Palestinian Authority to break off negotiations with the Israeli government after its forces launched military strikes on the coastal territory.

The Israeli action followed an escalation of the rocket attacks into Israeli border towns from the area which is controlled by the militant Islamist group, Hamas.

In a statement, Mr Miliband condemned the rocket attacks as "terrorist acts" and and said that Israel was entitled to the right of self-defence. However, he also said that any response must be in accordance with international law.

"I support the UN Secretary General's call for all parties to step back from the brink of even deeper and more deadly clashes," he said.

"Israel's right to security and self-defence is clear and must be reiterated and supported.

"But measures taken in response to rockets must be in accordance with international law, minimising the suffering for innocent civilians, and maximising the scope for political negotiations to be restarted."

Mr Miliband said that the resumption of negotiations between the Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli government offered the only prospect of a peaceful solution to the crisis.

"These discussions, and swift progress in them, represent the only way of disarming the arguments of the extremists and bringing peace to the region," he said.

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