Sharon cuts links with Abbas after Gaza bomb attack

[Crackingham]

The Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, ordered a halt to all contacts with the Palestinian Authority yesterday after the bombing and shooting attack in Gaza which killed six Israeli terminal workers and three Palestinians. Mr Sharon's office said Palestinian security personnel had been involved.

The tough new move will overshadow the inauguration of Mahmoud Abbas as the new Palestinian President in Ramallah today.

Israeli officials said the bar on contacts, after the pace of conflict quickened since Mr Abbas's election last Sunday, would stay until the Palestinian President took decisive action to halt attacks. The move immediately puts on hold Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas's relatively cordial agreement to remain in contact and meet in what the Israeli Prime Minister told his cabinet on Tuesday would be "the near future".

Thursday night's attack at Karni, the main crossing-point for cargo and aid between Gaza and Israel, along with Israel's unequivocally sharp response, significantly raise the stakes of Mr Abbas's stated intention to try to secure a ceasefire by the armed factions as a prelude to restarting the peace process.


http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=601100

[WCGreen]

1. Short, sweet peace.........

Business as usual.....

PR, photos and more slaughter....

[daleo]

2. That didn't take long.

Stopping peace talks every time there is bombing is sure way to never achieve peace. It allows any third group to stifle progress at any time. But everyone knows this.