Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will hold hastily arranged security talks later on Thursday, public radio reported, after cutting short a landmark trip to India to tackle an upsurge in violence that threatens to scupper the international road map for peace.
Defence Minister Shaoul Mofaz, army chief Moshe Yaalon and other senior security officials are to take part in the emergency discussions on Thursday afternoon.
Sharon will then convene his security cabinet, which takes defence decisions.
During that meeting, the cabinet will decide on its response to Palestinian suicide attacks on Tuesday in which at least 14 Israelis died. The hardline Islamic Hamas movement has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
A large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip is one option that will be considered, along with expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the radio reported.
Forcing Arafat into exile is a popular idea among Israeli government hardliners.
Israeli security forces were on red alert on Thursday, fearing more attacks.
Meanwhile Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ahmed Qorei is to seek Palestinian parliamentary approval for his ”emergency government” on Thursday, sources said.
Sharon cancelled a trip on Thursday to Bombay, where he would have spent the second anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in a city hit two weeks ago by twin car bombings that killed 52 people and were blamed on Islamic extremists.
He had already delayed his arrival in India by a day until late on Monday after security fears foiled his plans to pay a private visit to the Taj Mahal, the massive monument to love built in the 17th century by Muslim emperor Shah Jehan in the northern city of Agra. — Sapa-AFP