PLO body urges militants to halt attacks
The PLO Executive Committee issued its statement in Ramallah. It followed an attack late on Thursday by militants at the Karni crossing between Gaza and Israel that left six Israeli civilians dead, setting off Israeli reprisal raids in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cut off contacts with the regime of Mahmoud Abbas, sworn in yesterday as the successor to Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority.
Yesterday, Mr Sharon authorised his military to step up its operations to stop the attacks, including rocket and mortar fire at Jewish settlements and Israeli towns outside Gaza.
In its statement, the PLO body called on militants to “stop all the military action that might harm our national goals and give the Israelis an excuse to obstruct Palestinian stability.”
A senior Israeli official downplayed the announcement, repeating Israeli policy that the Palestinians will be judged by their deeds, not their words.
Mr Abbas has spoken out against Palestinian violence but has turned down demands to confront the militant groups, preferring to negotiate a truce.
Mr Sharon said he was giving Israel’s army free rein to battle militants in Gaza and accused the new Palestinian leadership he now shuns of doing nothing to stop attacks on Israelis.
Palestinian officials urged calm and said Mr Abbas would try again this week to win over fighters defying his calls for an end to a four-year-old armed uprising so as to allow talks.
But Israel suspects his approach is doomed to fail.
“Despite the change in Palestinian leadership, we have yet to see them taking any action against terror,” Mr Sharon told his cabinet, two days after suspending all contacts with Mr Abbas because of a militant attack that killed six Israelis.
“The Israeli military and security apparatus have been instructed to take any action needed without restriction to stop terror and they will continue to do so... as long as the Palestinians do not lift a finger.”
Israeli media said the army might consider resuming assassinations of top militant leaders and could set up “security zones” in the Gaza Strip to prevent mortar and rocket fire aimed into Israel or at Jewish settlements.
Mr Sharon told ministers he could hear at his ranch in southern Israel rockets landing in nearby towns, and demanded Palestinian police deploy in northern Gaza to stop the salvoes.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Mr Abbas would go to Gaza this week to press militants to agree to a truce that would have to be reciprocated by Israel and also try to persuade them to take part in July 17 parliamentary elections.
“We have to try. If we are willing to talk with our occupiers, shouldn’t we talk to our brothers?
“We have to continue. This is not an easy task,” Mr Shaath said.
Violence has choked new hopes of peace following Mr Arafat’s death.
Troops killed eight Palestinians in Gaza, several of them gunmen, on Saturday.
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