Israel promises revenge for soldier deaths

· Hamas warned after two killed in pre-dawn raid
· Abbas ordered to secure seized corporal's release

Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv
Monday June 26, 2006
The Guardian

Israel has warned Hamas that it will pay a "deadly price" for a daring raid on Israeli positions yesterday in which militants killed two soldiers and kidnapped a third.

Members of Hamas played a leading role in the pre-dawn attack, in which gunmen took Israeli forces by surprise and raised the prospect of a major escalation of violence.

Israeli officials also told Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, that they held him responsible and expected him to remain in Gaza until he secured the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier.

The attack, which was carried out by Hamas with the Popular Resistance Committees and a little known group called the Islamic Army, overshadowed attempts yesterday by Mr Abbas to come to an agreement with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister.

They were due to meet to discuss a joint platform, commonly known as the "prisoners' document". This would entail implicit recognition of Israel and end Palestinian infighting and the isolation of the Palestinian Authority.

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Guardian Unlimited

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"Any moment, Najah Awad said, Israeli tanks were sure to chew their way across the border and past her house here. She had already bundled her four children off to their grandparents' home. She was packing up whatever she needed for the certain trouble ahead.

But was she angry at the prospect of another round of violence in Gaza?

She certainly was not angry at Hamas, one of the militant groups that on Sunday jointly attacked an Israeli military post not far away, killing two soldiers, wounding three and taking one prisoner, almost guaranteeing a severe Israeli counterstrike.

"It's good and even sweet," Ms. Awad, 28, said of the attack, as two Israeli drones buzzed overhead. "I wish they would always do this."

The sentiment was common in Gaza on Monday: applause for the attack — which Palestinians said avenged an unacceptable number of civilians killed by recent Israeli strikes here — and deadened resignation over the pain likely to come."

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