Olmert orders military action against Gaza militants

Prime minister Ehud Olmert today said he had ordered the army to prepare a “broad” military operation against militants in the Gaza Strip following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.

“It should be clear that there will be no immunity to those who are holding him,” Olmert said in a speech at a business conference in Jerusalem.

Olmert also said he held the entire Palestinian leadership responsible for the safety of the soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was seized in a cross-border raid early yesterday.

Palestinian politician Saeb Erekat, a close associate of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called on Israel to avoid a military response.

“We urge prime minister Olmert to refrain from any military action at a time when President Abbas is exerting maximum efforts in order to acquire the release of the soldier, alive and unharmed,” Erekat said.