Exactly the right message to send by Sharon. Too many attaboys to abu mazen from the euros and Powell. Terror must stop first or at a minimum PA must make an attempt to stop it before discussions go forward. Once again we are at a critical juncture. If the Pals dont want to live in hell, they must somehow stop whats left of the self destructive intifada. Which way will Abu go?
cnn.com
Sharon suspends contacts with Palestinian Authority
Move follows attack that killed 6 civilians
Friday, January 14, 2005 Posted: 1:37 PM EST (1837 GMT)
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the suspension of all contacts with newly-elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, following an attack by Palestinian militants that killed six Israelis civilians, Israeli officials said.
Earlier, Israel announced that it was closing all three crossings into Gaza until the Palestinian Authority acts to stop terror attacks.
Three Palestinian militants on Thursday blew a hole through a door at the Karni crossing, a major commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza, stormed into the Israeli side and opened fire at civilians, killing six Israeli civilians and wounding five others, two seriously, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Israeli troops shot back, killing the three militants, the IDF said.
The Karni attack follows the election of Abbas as the new president of the Palestinian Authority, and observers speculated that the attack was intended as a challenge to show Abbas that he cannot control militants in Gaza. He is scheduled to be officially installed in his new post Saturday.
Abbas won Sunday's historic Palestinian election, which international observers said may have been the first truly democratic election in the Arab world. (Full story)
He has said militants' attacks on Israelis hurt the Palestinian cause. Abbas said one of his first acts will be to reform the Palestinian security services in an attempt to get security control over the Palestinian territories.
Israeli army chief Moshe Ya'alon said the Karni crossing between Israel and Gaza was shut down shortly after Thursday night's attack.
The two other crossings -- Erez, also between Gaza and Israel, and Rafah, between Gaza and Egypt -- will also remain closed indefinitely, effectively isolating Gaza.
The Rafah crossing has been closed since a shooting incident there last month.
The Israeli general in charge of the area said the closings will significantly restrict the amount of goods going into Gaza, but that Israel would attempt to do what it could to help innocent civilians.
Brig. Gen. Avi Kochavi, commander of the Gaza Division, told Israel Radio on Friday, "This is a central crossing through which merchandise, medicine and food are brought. For a reason that is not clear to us, (the terrorists) are making every effort to destroy our every attempt to allow the Palestinians, their own people, (to lead) easier lives."
Groups claim responsibility
Three Palestinian militant groups -- Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- claimed responsibility for what they said was a joint attack.
Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization whose military wing has admitted to terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Israel and the U.S. State Department consider it a terrorist organization.
Al Aqsa is a secular, militant offshoot of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. The United States also considers it a terrorist organization.
The Popular Resistance Committees is an umbrella organization of militant groups.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on its Web site that funerals were held Friday for Dror Gizri, Herzl Shlomo, 51, and Ivan Shmilov, 54, in the town of town of Sderot.
Munam Abu Sabia, 33, and Ibrahim Kahili, 46, were also killed, Haaretz reported. The sixth victim was not identified. |
