Militants end truce after strike

HAMAS said yesterday its ceasefire was over after Israel killed one of its senior political leaders in a missile strike in retaliation for a suicide bombing of a bus that killed 20 people, including six children.

Hamas vowed revenge and, along with Islamic Jihad, formally called off a truce declared eight weeks ago.

Israeli troops also raided the West Bank towns of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem in search of militants. In the West Bank city Hebron, troops blew up the home of the Jerusalem bus bomber, a routine punishment intended as deterrent.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas warned that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab would make it harder to crack down on militant groups, and a Palestinian official said the campaign was on hold.

Under pressure from Washington and Israel, the Palestinian leadership had decided on a clampdown just hours before his death a move Washington insisted must still go ahead. The latest escalation places the US-backed "road map" peace plan in serious jeopardy.

"The end of the road map is a cliff that both sides will fall off of," Secretary of State Colin Powell said.

Abu Shanab, who is in his early 50s, was riding with two bodyguards in his white station wagon Thursday in Gaza City when five missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter hit the vehicle. The car burst into flames and the bodies were pulled from the wreckage.

Dozens of Hamas supporters at the scene dunked their fists in blood, raised their hands and vowed revenge.

Israel has routinely targeted members of Hamas' military wing but rarely gone after the group's political leaders. Abu Shanab, a US-educated professor of engineering, was the third member of Hamas' political wing to be killed in the past two years.

Abu Shanab was widely regarded as a moderate in the group, and served as a liaison with Abbas during the prime minister's efforts to persuade Hamas to halt attacks.

Israel says the distinction between political and military leaders is insignificant, because both are involved in planning attacks.

"There's no question that there is a direct link between the heads of Hamas and the terrorists on the ground," Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that if the Palestinian Authority "does not take all the necessary steps in the war against terror, real and substantial steps, it will not be possible to advance on the diplomatic track."