Israel vows to keep up Gaza strikes

JERUSALEM: Israel vowed on Sunday to keep up its strikes on militants in Gaza as a soldier was wounded by mortar shells fired from the lawless territory by the armed wing of Hamas.   

One soldier was moderately wounded and three suffered light injuries when mortar shells near the Erez border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the army said.   

In Gaza City, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the senior partner in the Palestinian unity cabinet, claimed responsibility for the fire, which also struck a kibbutz without causing injuries.   

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed the army would continue its strikes on gunmen despite a drop in projectiles fired by militants at the weekend.   

"In view of what appears to be a drop in Qassam fire, I would like to make it clear that we are not negotiating," Olmert said at the weekly cabinet meeting, referring to the homemade rockets.   

"We are not committing ourselves to changing the patterns of our operations," he said.

"We will continue to take action against terrorist elements... in the Gaza region and the West Bank without letting up." "These activities are yielding results and will continue as they contribute to protecting Israeli citizens."   

The violence around Gaza, which has also included deadly factional clashes between rival Fatah and Hamas factions, has sparked international concern and has threatened to torpedo efforts to revive the moribund Mideast peace talks.   

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum denied that two days of relative quiet at the weekend -- with a decrease both in rockets and Israeli strikes on Friday and Saturday -- represented a "change of strategy."

"We will respond with all necessary force and we will increase the resistance in the face of (Israeli) violations," he said, adding that the movement was demanding a "general truce" to apply to both Gaza and the West Bank to stop its fire. Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza on May 16 after a six-month truce following a sharp increase in rocket fire that accompanied fierce fighting between rival Hamas and Fatah factions.   

The Israeli strikes have killed 16 civilians and 37 militants, mostly from Hamas but have failed to completely halt the rockets.   

More than 285 projectiles have been fired into Israel since May 15, the army said, killing two civilians, wounding more than 20 people and sending hundreds fleeing from the southern town of Sderot that has borne the brunt of the fire.   

Israel and Gaza militants largely abided by a six-month ceasefire that was implemented on November 26 before the latest bout of violence shattered the truce two and a half weeks ago.   

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who is due to meet Olmert on Thursday, has called for a truce but the prospects of a ceasefire appear dim.   

"We will continue operations against Qassam manufacturing and sources financing terror," the office of Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz quoted him as telling the cabinet meeting.   

"We do not intend to let Hamas make a decision on a ceasefire," he said. "We must guarantee that the situation where Hamas solves its problems by firing on Israel does not occur again."   

The increase in rockets fired from Gaza into Israel came as Hamas and Fatah battled each other in the streets in the latest bout of internecine bloodshed that has shaken Gaza in recent months.   

The violence killed 54 Palestinians before a shaky truce was implemented on May 19 and sparked concerns that the coalition government uniting the two rivals could collapse.   

Representatives from the five main Palestinian factions have been meeting in Cairo under Egyptian mediation trying to shore up their truce and agree on a new ceasefire with Israel.