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Deputy DM Boim: IDF may move into Gaza 'within hours'
By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1121482143612

Deputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim said that a large-scale ground offensive would begin Sunday morning "within a few hours" unless there was a serious change within the Palestinian Authority towards quelling the recent violence emanating from the Gaza Strip.

Boim told Israel Radio that infantry and armored units, including tanks, were already prepared for the offensive operation into the Strip, and were waiting for the order from the government.

Earlier Sunday, Palestinians fired two Kassam rockets at the western Negev town of Sderot, causing no injuries or damage.

According to Army Radio, six mortar shells targeted Israeli settlements in Gaza, while five anti-tank missiles were fired at IDF positions in Gaza. In all incidents, no injuries or casualties were reported.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the violence will have no affect on the evacuation from Gaza and that he had instructed the security forces to "act without limitations" to combat terror.

"Terror attacks will not prevent the execution of disengagement" as scheduled, Sharon said during an interview aired on Channel 2 Saturday night. "Israel's response to terrorism will be very strong and heavy."

A Sharon aide, speaking after the interview, said that serious moves could come in "a matter of days. We're giving the last opportunity to Abu Mazen [Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] to take the steps" needed to end terror, the aide said.

Sharon said that Israel, in the face of Palestinian inaction, would take "all necessary measures" against Islamic Jihad, such as targeted assassinations and the retaking of Tulkarm. The cabinet is to review the situation at its meeting Sunday.

Sharon also said that there was no connection between disengagement and the upsurge in violence.

"There is no connection between the plan to evacuate Gaza, which is a crucial thing – crucial especially for Israel – and terror. Terrorism was there all the time," he said. "There was a decision of the terror organizations, according to their convenience, to stop for some periods of time."

Against the backdrop of spiraling violence in the region, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided on Friday to adjust her schedule and add a visit to the Middle East designed to nurture Israel's promised withdrawal from Gaza.

With the pullout a month away, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "All the parties need to make the maximum effort to see that this disengagement process is a success."

McCormack gave no precise date for Rice to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but her visit to the region was tacked on to her trip to Africa which is scheduled to begin Tuesday and last through July 24.

"It's a potentially historic moment, and the parties should seize the opportunity to realize all the potential from this disengagement," the spokesman said.

Rice spoke with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz by telephone, McCormack said. "We're closely engaged with both sides and we encourage them to take appropriate steps to restore order and calm," he said.

Rice has used telephone diplomacy in the last few days in an effort to keep Israel and the Palestinians on track for an orderly Israeli pullout and to encourage Palestinian leaders to go after terrorists.

She told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, during a phone call on Wednesday, that he must take immediate action to find and prosecute those responsible for the killing of four Israelis last week in Netanya.