Israel to launch large ground offensives after suicide attack

Israel has decided to launch large-scale ground military operations against Palestinian militants in response to Wednesday's suicide bombing that killed five Israelis, local newspaper Ha'aretz daily reported on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided overnight to stage massive ground offensives in the northern West Bank and northern Gaza to clamp down on the Islamic Jihad (Holy War), which claimed responsibility for the attack, the paper said.

Sharon pledged that Israel's new offensive in the West Bank and Gaza will continue until terrorism ends.

"We will not accept under any circumstances a continuation of terrorism. Therefore our activities will be broad and nonstop until they halt terrorism," Sharon said at the start of a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Unfortunately the Palestinian National Authority has not taken any serious action to battle terrorism," the prime minister said.

Sharon's remarks were echoed by Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev, who said there is no time limit on the offensives, which will continue till Jihad's infrastructure is eliminated or the Palestinian National Authority begins to act against the group.

"Islamic Jihad has declared war on every Israeli civilian and of course we're 100 percent entitled to take the appropriate action to defend our civilians," Regev said.

Israeli army has imposed a full closure on the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem and large villages and arrested several Jihad activists and supporters, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the army will impose a curfew on the West Bank and all crossings leading to the Palestinian-controlled areas will be closed.

Israeli army tanks are also expected to enter Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent Palestinian militants from launching rockets there.

The military said it will also deploy troops for a possible incursion into the Gaza Strip, but added that there is no immediate plan for a large-scale operation in Gaza, where Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers last month.

In addition, the Karni and Erez crossings in the Gaza Strip, which were re-opened on Wednesday, will be shut down, said the military, adding that a series of measures aimed at easing life for Palestinians will be reversed at least for the duration of the operations.

The Israeli decision to stage massive offensives came after a Jihad member blew himself up in a market in Israel's coastal city of Hadera on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding some 30 others.

The deadly incident has dealt a heavy blow to an already shaky de facto truce that Palestinians and Israel reached in February.

Major Palestinian militant groups including Jihad have agreed to abide by the ceasefire till the year end.

Source: Xinhua