Israel prepare for further offensive

Israel's Security Cabinet has endorsed a plan to gradually reoccupy Palestinian land until attacks on Israelis stop.

Israel Radio reports the army is preparing for a wide-scale offensive.

It adds that officials do not believe it will match the scale of the massive, six-week military campaign launched in March.

However, Amos Yaron, director general of the Defence Ministry, says the six-week operation did not go far enough.

He warns the military is preparing a "crushing and decisive" response to recent Palestinian suicide bombings.

In an interview on Israel Radio he said: "We have to take much more massive action than we have up until now. If this entails entering the territories and staying there a long time, then we will have to consider it."