Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday gave his army orders to crush militants in the Gaza Strip as the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) called for an end to attacks that ”harm the national interest”.
”The current situation is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue,” Sharon said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting as he accused new Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas of doing nothing to stop the attacks.
”The Tsahal [army] and the security forces have received orders to operate without any limits on time or their modus operandi to act against the terrorist organisations.
”These instructions will remain valid as long as the Palestinians fail to lift even a single finger” against the armed factions, he added.
The order is further proof that Sharon has already lost his patience with Abbas, who was only sworn in as Palestinian leader on Saturday, over his failure to bring to heel factions such as the radical Islamist movement Hamas.
He has already frozen all contact with the Palestinian Authority in the aftermath of an attack on a border crossing between Gaza and Israel that left six Israelis dead.
The executive committee of the PLO, which is led by Abbas, said on Sunday that attacks which give Israel an ”excuse” to block progress in the peace process have to stop.
”The committee gave its full support to Abu Mazen’s [Abbas’s] inauguration speech to stop all military acts that harm our national interest,” said a statement after the decision-making body met in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Such attacks merely ”give an excuse to the Israeli position, which is aimed at sabotaging Palestinian stability and the implementation of the road map”, the committee added in reference to a troubled Middle East peace plan.
In his inauguration speech on Saturday, Abbas denounced militant attacks for undermining the atmosphere needed for a ”credible, serious peace process” but stopped short of announcing how he intends to halt the attacks.
Israeli Interior Minister Ophir Pines, who joined Sharon’s new coalition last week, said it is time for Abbas to take firm action against the men of violence.
”Abu Mazen has clearly said that he is opposed to terrorism but now his words must be translated into action,” said Pines. ”He must prove his determination to confront the terrorists.”
Abbas is due to travel to Gaza on Wednesday for talks with the factions aimed at reaching an agreement on a ceasefire, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said as he criticised the new orders for the army from Sharon.
”This policy will not serve the peace process and I ask the Israeli people to reject this Sharon policy,” Shaath told reporters in Ramallah.
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei also criticised the Israeli premier.
”This reaction by Mr Sharon will not help lead to a ceasefire or with the pursuit of the peace process,” he said.
The election of Abbas, who has carved out a reputation as a moderate, had boosted hopes of a breakthrough in the peace process.
But any talk of a honeymoon period between the two sides was quickly silenced by the Gaza border attack.
Eight Palestinians were killed on Saturday as Israeli tanks and troops became involved in running gun battles on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City and in the Rafah refugee camp in the south of the territory.
Tanks were still parked on the edge of Gaza City early on Sunday, although there were no reports of fresh clashes.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose government has been liaising closely with Israel over this year’s planned pull-out of troops and settlers from Gaza, urged Sharon to reopen contacts with the Palestinians, saying it is unrealistic for him to expect an immediate end to violence.
”I urge Ariel Sharon to continue the peace process and negotiate,” Mubarak told reporters in Cairo.
”We know from experience that you cannot say violence must stop before negotiations start. Violence will still happen, but if the Palestinians get the means to live they will themselves call for violence to stop.” — Sapa-AFP
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