Israel may expand offensive in Gaza

[David]

AP


JERUSALEM - Israel plans to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and will decide soon on the what kind of operation it will conduct, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday.

The military offensive will not lead to an Israeli reoccupation of the coastal area it pulled out of last year, Olmert was quoted as telling lawmakers at parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Officials said the goal of an offensive would be to prevent arms smuggling along the porous Egypt-Gaza frontier.

Later, at a Cabinet meeting, Olmert said, "There is no doubt that we have to take steps to reduce the ability of the Palestinians to fire rockets at Israel and smuggle in weapons," but no decision has been made on exactly what to do, according to a participant in the meeting.

The participant, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said Olmert specified that Israeli action would "minimize humanitarian problems."

In southern Gaza, meanwhile, Palestinian gunmen kidnapped Roberto Vila, a 34-year-old Spanish aid worker, the latest in a string of abductions of journalists and other foreigners in the chaotic territory. There was no immediate indication of who the kidnappers were or what they wanted.

Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, a spokesman for Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, denounced the abduction. "We are ashamed by such acts," he said, calling for the aid worker's immediate release.

In northern Gaza, Palestinian police said a man was killed and two other people wounded when an Israeli tank shell hit a house. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israel has been fighting in Gaza since June, when Hamas militants there carried out a cross-border raid, killing two soldiers and capturing a third.

However, the army has largely avoided acting in the border area with Egypt ? going in last week, the first time since its withdrawal last September. Recently, Israel said that arms smuggling across the border has increased significantly.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said any additional military operations in Gaza, specifically along the border with Egypt, would be a "dangerous escalation."

Olmert also told the parliamentary committee that he would consider allowing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to beef up his security forces with troops stationed in neighboring Jordan.

Palestinian officials said Saturday that Abbas, a moderate, wants to bring in the forces ahead of a possible showdown with the rival Hamas militant group.

Israel has objected in the past to letting members of the Jordan-based Badr Brigade enter Palestinian areas. But on Monday, Olmert told lawmakers he would consider allowing such a move, said Ran Cohen, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

"If the addition of a military force will not hurt our security, then this will be considered favorably," Olmert was quoted as saying. He did not mention the Badr force by name.

Clashes have been intensifying in recent weeks between Abbas' Fatah Party and forces loyal to Hamas. The violence, concentrated in the Gaza Strip, has left more than a dozen dead and raised fears of a larger conflict.

Israel has boycotted the Hamas-led government since it took office in March, but supports the more moderate Abbas, who was elected separately.

The international community has said it will not lift the sanctions unless Hamas recognizes Israel, accepts past peace agreements and renounces violence ? demands the militant Islamic group has rejected.