Enlarge imageBy Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) - Israel launched a new strike on the Gaza Strip and arrested more than 200 suspected militants in a massive sweep in the West Bank on Sunday after warning Palestinians of a crushing response to rocket attacks from Gaza.
The worst surge in violence since Israel’s pullout from Gaza on September 12 after 38 years of occupation put pressure on a shaky cease-fire and on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as he tried to defeat a rightist leadership challenge over the withdrawal.
Pledging to use all means to stop Palestinian attacks, Sharon told his cabinet: "We don’t intend here to stage a one-time action, but intend to carry out a continued action, whose aim is to hurt the terrorists and not to let up."
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Sharon spoke after a helicopter fired two missiles in northern Gaza. A military source said buildings used by militants were targeted. There were no reports of casualties a day after similar strikes killed two militants and hurt 20 people.
In the West Bank, troops arrested 207 suspected Islamic militants in the toughest crackdown for months. Among those held were Hamas leaders Hassan Youssef and Mohammed Ghazal, known as a relative moderate in the group, which is committed to destroying Israel.
Troops are poised outside the Gaza Strip for a possible ground offensive. Artillery fired three shells near the territory in what one security source called "range practice".
Sharon’s inner cabinet also agreed to resume assassinations of top militants, suspended since a February truce, and gave a green light for the unprecedented use of artillery. Israeli media said the army operation was dubbed "First Rain".
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie accused Israel of trying to wreck hopes of reviving peace negotiations that have been kindled by the Gaza withdrawal.
"We can only see that Israel wants to kill any attempt to revive the peace process," Qurie said.
SPIRAL
The latest spiral of violence intensified when a blast killed 15 people at a Hamas rally in Gaza on Friday.
Hamas blamed Israel and militants fired at least 40 rockets into the Jewish state in response, though Israel denied responsibility and the Palestinian Authority said it appeared to be an accident caused by Hamas members carrying explosives.
Hamas vowed revenge for the latest Israeli strikes and raids. Spokesman Mushir al-Masri said the violence could "open the doors to hell." Hamas leaders would take extra precautions against Israeli attacks, he said.
Hamas has so far largely abided by a truce Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed with Israel in February and which helped smooth the Israeli pullout from Gaza.
Palestinian officials condemned "Israeli aggression", but Abbas also strongly criticised militants for keeping explosives in built-up areas, calling their actions a "massacre".
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the European Union said they were concerned by the escalation and urged restraint.
The violence could have an impact when Sharon battles on Sunday to hold on to the leadership of his ruling Likud party in a showdown triggered by rightist rival Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the Gaza pullout.
Netanyahu said it would bring more violence rather than the "disengagement" from conflict Sharon said he sought.
The vote by more than 3,000 central committee members on Monday could prompt Sharon to leave Likud and form a new centrist alliance if it brings forward party primaries as Netanyahu wants.
The bloodshed is also a major challenge for Abbas, who has shied away from disarming militant groups such as Hamas -- an Israeli condition for talks on Palestinian statehood -- because of fears it could lead to civil war.
(Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah)
