http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBZMSUO9BE.htmlBy Mark Lavie Associated Press Writer
Published: Jul 17, 2005
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel threatened Sunday to invade Gaza if Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas does not control militants who have stepped up rocket and mortar attacks ahead of Israel's planned pullout from the coastal strip next month.
Abbas pledged to do his utmost to stop the barrages but warned that an invasion of Gaza would "sabotage everything."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said all restraints are off and thousands of Israeli troops have massed along the Gaza border. The sudden escalation is the most serious threat yet to a 5-month-old truce that had drastically reduced Palestinian-Israeli violence after more than four years of bloodshed.
More than 100 rockets and mortars have rained down on Gaza settlements and Israeli villages just outside the territory in the last four days. Hamas leaders say they are retaliating for Israeli violations of the truce.
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