Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday peace efforts with Israel must move forward, despite an especially bloody spate of violence capped by a deadly attack on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem.

Abbas also reiterated his support for Egypt's efforts to mediate a truce between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

In a speech marking International Women's Day, Abbas said, "Despite all the circumstances we're living through and all the attacks we're experiencing, we insist on peace. There is no other path."

Israel has sent mixed signals since Thursday night's shooting, in which a Palestinian gunman burst into a prestigious Jerusalem seminary and killed eight students, many of whom were studying religious holy texts in the building's library.

Officials have indicated a willingness to move ahead with peace talks with Abbas, launched last November at a US-hosted summit in Annapolis, Maryland. The sides hope to reach a final agreement by the end of the year. The Egyptian-backed truce efforts remain cloudy, especially if it turns out that Hamas was behind the seminary shooting.

Concerned about more violence, Israel slapped a closure on the West Bank over the weekend, barring most Palestinians from entering Israel. Military officials said it was not known when the closure would be lifted.