Israel demands crackdown on militants after checkpoint raid

Israel has responded to this morning's raid on an army checkpoint in the Gaza Strip in which four Israeli troops and three Palestinians…

Israel has responded to this morning's raid on an army checkpoint in the Gaza Strip in which four Israeli troops and three Palestinians were killed by demanding that Mahoud Abbas cracks down on militants.

Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner demanded immediate action from the new Palestinian Prime Minister.

He said: "If terrorism will continue, it will destroy the road map, it will destroy the peace process."

However Abbas said he would resist pressure to crack down on the militants and would continue efforts to talk with them.

READ MORE

"We will not allow anybody to drag us into a civil war," he said.

The gunmen, who wore Israeli army uniforms, attacked the army post near the Erez crossing into Israel just after dawn.

The post is near an Israeli-run industrial zone at the northern end of the Gaza Strip.

Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader, said the attack was intended to send a message to the Palestinian leadership that Palestinians will continue to fight Israel and will not "surrender to the pressure exerted by Israel and the United States of America".

The shooting is a major setback to a US-backed peace plan, coming just hours after Palestinian militant groups insisted they would not halt attacks on Israelis.

Three armed groups - Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade - have claimed joint responsibility for the shooting.

A leaflet gave the names of the gunmen, all in their early 20s, one from each group.

It read: "This joint operation was committed to confirm our people's united choice of holy war and resistance until the end of occupation over our land and holy places."

The gunmen, who wore Israeli army uniforms, attacked the army post near the Erez crossing from Gaza into Israel just after dawn.

The post is near an Israeli-run industrial zone at the northern end of the Gaza Strip.

AP