from the palestinian authority, president mahmoud abass? he addressed the palestinian people today on israeli television. >> reporter: it was a message of defiance what he's talking about. he didn't send out any call for a calming down of the situation. in fact, he said that the palestinian authority would take the israeli government to the international criminal court in the hague over the killing of innocent palestinians. and his words over the gaza war and the occupation of the west bank. he didn't send any conciliatory messages whatsoever. so it might indicate that he himself is feeling under pressure from the palestinian street and feels he has to take a hard line, which isn't going to diffuse tensions at the moment. >> ben wedeman in jerusalem, thanks very much. the violence certainly has been building for weeks. and as the casualty count grows there are now growing fears that this could turn into another