Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon's plan to set up buffer zones between Israel and the Palestinian territories prompted Palestinian outrage today.
Mr Sharon, under pressure from the right and the left after a series of bombings and ambushes, said in a nationally televised speech last night that "security separation" from the Palestinians was the recipe for protecting Israelis from attacks.
But Palestinian Information Minister Mr Yasser Abed Rabbo condemned the move, which followed a day of Israeli reprisal raids that killed nine people, as an attempt to "create jails for the Palestinian people within their cities, towns and villages".
Mr Sharon gave few details, but his comments were widely interpreted to mean he would seal off some Palestinian areas and might even put slices of Palestinian-ruled land bordering the Jewish state back under Israeli military control.
His initiative appeared aimed at staving off growing criticism across the political spectrum for failing to subdue the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation despite stepped-up military action.
At least 888 Palestinians and 273 Israelis have been killed since the revolt began 17 months ago. This week has seen the worst sustained violence since the start of the uprising in September 2000.
Mr Sharon tried to shore up Israelis' sagging morale, urging them to stand firm and ignore dissenting voices, but he offered no new ideas for ending the bloodshed. Instead, he struck a stern tone toward the Palestinians following a second day of fierce bombardments of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in retaliation for the killing of six Israeli soldiers. He vowed the military would not rest "until the terrorist network has been destroyed."
But he pledged: "Israel will do everything in its power to prevent a slide into total war". Palestinian cabinet minister Mr Nabil Shaath said Mr Sharon had "offered no hope . . . and opened no way to ending the confrontation and heading back to the peace table".