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Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered
the military to step up operations against Palestinian militants.
Mr. Sharon's directive ordered the military to step up its operations,
without restrictions, in order to prevent Palestinian militant attacks.
The order is directed mainly at the Gaza Strip where militants have
intensified their attacks against Israeli targets in recent weeks. Late
Thursday, they launched a well-coordinated assault on a major commercial
crossing point between Gaza and Israel proper, killing six Israelis.
Israel sealed off the Gaza
Strip on Friday and cut off all contact with the Palestinian Authority.
On Saturday and Sunday militants fired mortars and rockets into Israeli
settlements in Gaza and into the Israeli town of Sderot.
Israeli force attacked militants Saturday in central and southern Gaza,
killing at least six people.
The violence escalated as newly elected Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas was sworn in. Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insists there will be no contact until Mr.
Abbas cracks down on the militants.
Mr. Sharon's senior advisor, Dori Gold, spoke with VOA：."Israel will
not return to a situation where it is negotiating while its civilians are
being killed. That is untenable,"
Mr. Abbas has said he is pursuing negotiations with the militants, but
will not use force to rein them in.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat says the Israeli action
unfairly targets Mr. Abbas before he has an opportunity to try to address
the situation.
"They decided to suspend talks with him, what kind of logic is this? I
mean the man did not even resume [sic] his office yet; don't you give him
a chance?," he said.
Mr. Abbas is expected to visit Gaza this week to push for an immediate
ceasefire with the militants.
Meanwhile, Mr. Abbas also faces a wave of political challenges stemming
from last Sunday's election. 46 election officials have resigned their
posts to protest alleged irregularities in the voting.
The officials say they were forced, some at gunpoint, to keep the polls
open an extra two hours, giving Mr. Abbass supporters more time to vote.
International monitors say the last-minute changes increased voter
turnout, but did not undermine the elections legitimacy. | 
