Tattered truce: Sharon vows no restraint in militant crackdown

PRIME MINISTER Ariel Sharon issued his sternest warning yet to Palestinian militants yesterday, promising no restraint in stopping an upsurge in violence that has left a Mideast truce in tatters ahead of Israel’s Gaza Strip pullout.

Thousands of Israeli troops massed along the Gaza border and Israel Radio reported that Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz told Mr Sharon’s ministers that preparations for a possible ground strike were complete.

Militants vowed to retaliate against any Israeli military assault.

The violence has cast a heavy pall over Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza and northern West Bank settlements next month and has sent international mediators scrambling to try to restore calm.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice changed her schedule to include a last-minute trip to the region later this week.

“I spoke to the heads of the defence establishment ... and informed them that there are to be no restraints on our operations,” Mr Sharon told Cabinet ministers.

Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz also said Israel would launch a “massive, prolonged and intricate” military strike if the Palestinian Authority doesn’t curb militants who have been bombarding Israeli targets with rockets and mortar rounds in recent days.

Palestinian police, meanwhile, began removing Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah flags from the street of Gaza, leaving only the Palestinian national flag. On Saturday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said he would tolerate no challenges to his government’s authority and called on militants to stop their attacks.

A Palestinian suicide bombing and a rocket attack last week killed a total of six Israelis. Militants have fired more than 100 projectiles at Israeli targets since Thursday, in one of the heaviest onslaughts since the two sides declared a now-moribund truce in February.

Rockets and mortar rounds continued to hit Israeli targets yesterday. Two Israelis were wounded seriously by a mortar that landed on a house in the Gaza settlement of Neve Dekalim, rescue officials said. Hamas militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

Earlier yesterday, an Israeli sniper shot and killed a senior Hamas field commander in a targeted strike after another mortar round hit the same community.